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PUBLIC SERVICES 



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Brought down to the year 1 14. 



NEW- YORK : 

GREELEY & McELRATH, TRIBUNE BUILDINGS. 

1844. 



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Greeley &M? fflratk, Trihim*> BizzlcUngs tfYork. 



THE 



LIFE AND PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



HENRY CLAY. 



BY EPES SARGENT, ESQ., 



OF NEW YORK. 



NEW EDITION, 

REVISED, ENLARGED AND BROUGHT DOWN TO THE YEAR 1844, 

BY THE AUTHOR. 




NEW YORK:/2) 

GREELEY & M C ELRATH, TRIBUNE OFFICE, 160 NASSAU STREET. 

1844. 
* 









(oSz 



PREFACE. 



The name of the Author having been associated with another "Life of Clay," recently 
issued from the Press, he takes this occasion to say, that the present is the only one, in the 
preparation of which he has been, in the least degree, concerned. 

The first edition of this work appeared during the autumn of 1842, at which time there 
was no published memoir of Mr. Clay (so far as the writer's knowledge extended), except 
that by George D. Prentice, Esq. which terminates with the close of John Quincy Adams's 
administration. To this eloquent biographical sketch, the Author takes pleasure in acknow- 
ledging his indebtedness for a number of interesting facts. 

The new and improved edition of his " Life of Clay," now offered to the public, has been 
carefully revised — some errors have been corrected — several omissions have been supplied — 
and the Memoir has been brought down to the year 1844. 

Powerful and memorable as has been the influence which Mr. Clay has exerted upon the 
legislation of the country during the last forty years, the crowning felicity of his public 
career remains to be fulfilled and recorded. To his biographer of 1845 we leave the task of 
chronicling that auspicious event, to which the People of the United States now look hope- 
fully forward as to the day-spring of a new era of prosperity in the government. 

E. S. 

New York, March, 1844. 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1844, by 

GREELEY & M'ELRATII, 

In the Clerk's Office of the district Court cf the United States, fur the Southam District of New York. 




THE LIFE 



AND 



PUBLIC SERVICES 



OF 



HENRY CLAY 



CHAPTER I. 

Birtli and Parentage— His early days— The Mill-boy of the 
Slashes— Studies Law— Hears Patrick Henry— Removes to 
Kentucky— Debut at a Debating Society— Becomes a suc- 
cessful Practitioner — Cases in which he distinguishes himself— 
He advocates the policy of gradually Emancipating the 
Slaves in Kentucky— Opposes the Alien and Sedition Laws — 
Is elected to the General Assembly — Instances of his Elo- 
quence— Affair with Col. Daviess— Appears at the Bar for 
Aaron Burr— Sub>equent Interview with Burr in New-York. 

Henry Clay is a native of Hanover county, Vir- 
ginia. He was born on the 12th of April, 1777, in a 
district of country familiarly known in the neighbor- 
hood as the S/ashes. His father, a Baptist clergy- 
man, died during the revolutionary war, bequeath- 
ing a small and much embarrassed estate and seven 
children, of whom Henry was the fifth, to the care 
of an affectionate mother. The surviving parent 
did not possess the means to give her sons a classi- 
cal education; and the subject of our memoir re- 
ceived no oiher instruction than such as could be 
obtained in the log-cabin school-houses, still com- 
mon in the lower parts of Virginia, at which spell- 
ing, reading, writing and arithmetic are taught. 

In 1792, his mother, who had become united, in a 
second marriage, with Mr. Henry Watkins, removed 
to Woodford county, Kentucky, taking all her chil- 
dren, with the exception of Henry and his oldest 
brother. It was always a subject of regret with Mr. 
Clay, that he was deprived at so early an age of his 
mother's counsel, conversation and care. She was 
a woman of great strength of mind, and was tender- 
ly attached to her children. 

He had been only five years old when he lost his 
father; and, consequently, his circumstances in 
early life, if not actually indigent, were such as to 
Subject him frequently to hard manual labor. He 
bas ploughed in cornfields, many a summer day, 
without shoes and with no other clothes on than a 
pair of Osnaburg trowsers and a coarse shirt. He 
has often gone to mill with grain to be ground into 
meal or flour; and there are those who remember 
his youthful visits to Mrs. Darricott's mill, on the 
Pamunkey river. On such occasions he generally 
rode a horse without a saddle, while a rope sup- 



plied the place of a bridle. But in the absence of a 
more splendid equipment, a bag containing three or 
(our bushels of wheat or corn was generally thrown 
across the horse's back, mounted upon which the 
future statesman would go to mill, get the grain 
ground, and return with it home. 

At the age of fourteen, he was placed in a small 
retail store, kept by Mr. Richard Denny, near the 
market-house in the city of Richmond. He re- 
mained here till the next year, (1792,) when he was 
transferred to the office of the Clerk of the High 
Court of Chancery, Mr. Peter Tinsley. There he 
became acquainted with the venerable Chancellor 
Wythe, attracted his friendly attention, and enjoyed 
the benefit of his instruction and conversation. The 
Chancellor being unable to write well, in conse- 
quence of the gout or rheumatism in his right 
thumb, bethought himself of employing his younej 
friend as an amanuensis. This was a fortunate cir- 
cumstance for the fatherless boy. His attention 
was thus called to the structure of sentences, as he 
wrote them down from the dictation of his employ- 
er; and a taste for the study of grammar was crea- 
ted which was noticed and encouraged by the 
Chancellor, upon whose recommendation he read 
Harris's Hermes, Tooke's Diversions of Purley, 
Bishop Lowth's Grammar, and other similar works. 

For his handwriting, which is still remarkably 
neat and regular, Mr. Clay was chiefly indebted to 
Mr. Tinsley. Chancellor Wythe was devoted to 
the study of Greek. He was at one time occupied 
in preparing reports ot nis decisions, and comment- 
ing upon those of the Court of Appeals, by which 
some of his were reversed; and in this work he was 
assisted by his amanuensis. After the reports were 
published, hfi sent copies to Mr. Jefferson, John 
Adams, Samuel Adams, and others. In these copies 
he employed Henry Clay to copy particular passa- 
ges from Greek authors, to whom references had 
been made. Not understanding a single Greek cha- 
racter, the young copyist had to transcribe by itni 
tuiion letter after letter. 



Life of Henry Clay. 



Leaving the office of Mr. Tinslcy the latter part 
of 1796, he went to reside with the late Robert 
Brooke, Esq., the Attorney General, formerly Gov- 
ernor of Virginia. His only regular study of the 
law was during the year 1797, that he lived with 
Mr. Brooke; but it was impossible that he should 
not, in the daily scenes he witnessed, and in the pre- 
sence of the eminent men whom he so often heard 
and saw, be in the way of gathering much valuable 
legal information. During his residence of six or 
seven yeurs in Richmond, he became acquainted 
with all or most of the eminent Virginians of the pe- 
riod, who lived in that city, or were in the habit of 
resorting to it — with Edmund Pendleton, Spencer 
Roane, Chief Justice Marshall, Bushrod Washing- 
ton, Wiekhatn, Call, Copeland, &c. On two occa- 
sions, he had the good fortune to hear Patrick Hen- 
ry — once, before the Circuit Court of the United 
States for the Virginia District, on the question of 
the payment of the British debts; and again before 
the House of Delegates of Virginia, on a claim of 
the supernumerary officers in the service of the 
State dining the Revolutionary War. Mr. Clay re- 
members that remarkable man, his appearance and 
his manner, distinctly. The impression of his elo- 
quent powers remaining on his mind is, that their 
charm consisted mainly in one of the finest voices 
ever heard, in his graceful gesticulation, and the va- 
riety and force of expression which he exhibited in 
his face. 

Henry Clay quitted Richmond in November, 1797, 
his eldest brother having died while he yet resided 
in that city. Bearing a license from the Judges of j 
the Virginia Court of Appeals to practise law, he 
established himself in Lexington, Kentucky. He 
was without patrons, without the countenance of in- 
fluential friends, and destitute of the means of pay- 
ing his weekly board. " 1 remember," says he, in 
his speech of June, 1842, at Lexington, " how com- 
fortable L thought I should be, if I could make £100 
Virginia money per year; and with what delight I 
received the first fifteen shilling fee My hopes 
were more than realized. 1 immediately rushed into 
a lucrative practice." 

Before assuming the active responsibilities of his 
profession, he devoted himself with assiduity several 
months to his legal studies. Even at that period the 
bar of Lexington was eminent for its ability. Among 
its members were George Nicholas, James Hughes, 
John Breckenbridge, James Brown, William Mur- 
ray, and others, whose reputation was sufficient to 
discourage the most stouthearted competition. But 
true genius is rarely unaccompanied by a conscious- 
ness of its power ; and the friendless and unknown 
youth from Virginia fearlessly entered the field, 
which, to a less intrepid spirit, would have seemed 
pre-occupied. He soon commanded consideration 
and respect. He was familiar with the technicali- 
ties of practice; and early habits of business and 
application, enabled him to effect an easy mastery of 
the cases entrusted to his charge. His subtle ap- 
preciation of character, knowledge of human nature, 
and faculties of persuasion, rendered him peculiarly 
successful in his appeals to a jury ; and he obtained 
great celebrity for his adroit and careful manage- 
ment of criminal cases. 

An anecdote is related of him about the time of 
his first entrance upon his profession, which shows 



that, notwithstanding his fine capacities, he had some 
native diffidence to overcome before they were fairlv 
tested. He had joined a debating society, and at 
one of the meetings the vote was about to be taken 
upon the question under discussion, when he re- 
marked in a low but audible whisper, that the sub- 
ject did not appear to him to have been exhausted. 

" Do not put the question yet — Mr. Clay will 
speak," exclaimed a member, who had overheard 
the half hesitating remark. 

The chairman instantly took the hint, and nodded 
to the young lawyer in token of his readiness to hear 
what he had to say. With every indication of ex- 
treme embarrassment, he rose, and, in his confu- 
sion, began by saying : " Gentlemen of the Jury"— 
unconsciously addressing his fellow-members as the 
tribunal, to which he had perhaps often made ima- 
ginary appeals in his dreams of a successful debut 
at the bar. His audience did not add to his agita- 
tion by seeming to notice it, and, after floundering 
and blushing for a moment or two, and stammering 
out a repetition of the words '• Gentlemen of the 
Jury," he suddenly shook off all signs of distrust 
and timidity, and launched into his subject with a 
promptitude and propriety of elocution, which ex- 
cited general surprise. 

To those familiar with the perfect self possession 
of Mr. Clay's manner in afterlife upon all occasions, 
the most trying and unexpected, this instance will 
present an amusing contrast; for the evidence is 
not on record of his ever having failed for an instant 
in his resources of repartee or of argument in debate. 

Shortly after this early essay in public speaking, 
he was admitted as a practitioner before the Fayette 
Court of Quarter Sessions, a court of general juris- 
diction. Business soon poured in upon him, and 
during the first term he had a handsome practice. 
His manners and address, both in personal inter- 
course and before a jury, were unusually captivat- 
ing. Frank in avowing his sentiments, and bold 
and consistent in maintaining them, he laid the foun- 
dation of a character for sincerity and honor, which 
amid all the shocks of political changes and the 
scurrility of partizan warfare, has never been shaken 
or tainted. In the possession of these attributes, 
beyond the reach of cavil or of question, is to be 
found the secret of that inalienable attachment 
among the vast body of his friends, which has fol- 
lowed him throughout his career. 

One of the most important cases, in which Mr. 
Clay was engaged during the first three or four 
years of his professional life, was that in which he 
was employed to defend a Mrs. Phelps, indicted for 
murder. This woman was the wife of a respectablo 
farmer,and until the time of the act for which she was 
arraigned, had led a blameless and correct life. One 
day, in her own house, taking some offence at a Miss 
Phelps, her sister-in-law, she levelled a gun, and shot 
her through the heart. The poor girl had only time 
to exclaim, ' Sister, you have killed me,' and expired. 
Great interest was excited in the case, and the Court 
was crowded to overflowing on the day of trial. Of 
the fact of the homicide there could be no doubt. 
It was committed in the presence of witnesses, and 
the only question was to what class of crimes did 
the offence belong. If it were pronounced murder 
in the first degree, the life of the wretched prisoner 
would be the forfeit ; but, if manslaughter, she 



Mr. Clay as an Advocate— Slavery. 



would be punished merely by confinement in the on all of these points, Mr. Clay's colleague was 



gaol or penitentiary. The legal contest was long 
und able. The efforts of the counsel for the prose- 
cution were strenuous and earnest; but Mr. Clay 
succeeded not only in saving the life of his client, 
but so moved the jury in her behalf by his eloquence, 
that her punishment was made as light as the law 
would allow. He gained much distinction by the 
ability he displayed iu this case, and thenceforth it 
was considered a great object to enlist his assistance 
in all criminal suits on the part of the defendant. 
It is a singular fact, that in the course of a very 
extensive practice in the courts of criminal jurispru- 
dence, and in the defence of a large number of indi- 
viduals arraigned for capital offences, he never had 
one of his clients sentenced to death. 

Another case, in which he acquired scarcely less 
celebrity, was shortly afterward tried in Harrison 
County. Two Germans, father and son, had been 
indicted for murder. The deed of kdling was proved 
to the entire satisfaction of the Court, and was con- 
sidered an aggravated murder. Mr. Clay's efforts 
were therefore directed to saving their lives. The 
trial occupied five days, and his closing appeal to 
the jury was of the most stirring and pathetic de- 
scription. It proved irresistible, for they returned a 
verdict of manslaughter. Not satisfied with this sig- 
nal triumph, he moved an arrest of judgment, and, 
after another day's contest, prevailed in this also. 
The consequence was, that the prisoners were dis- 
charged without even the punishment of the crime, 
of which the jury had found them guilty. 

An amusing incident occurred at the conclusion 
of this trial. An old, withered, ill-favored German 
woman, who was the wife of the elder prisoner, and 
the mother of the younger, on being informed of the 
success of the final motion for an arrest of judg- 
ment, and the consequent acquittal of her husband 
and son, ran toward the young advocate, in the ex- 
cess of her gratitude and joy, and throwing her arms 
about his neck, kissed him in the eyes of the crowd- 
ed court. Although taken wholly by surprise, and 
hardly flattered by blandishments from such a 
source, young Clay acquitted himself upon the oc- 
casion, with a grace and good humor, which won 
him new applause from the spectators. All great 
emotions claim respect; and in this instance so far 
did the sympaties of the audience go with the old 
woman as to divest of ridicule an act, which, in the 
recital, may seem to have partaken principally of 
the ludicrous. 

Notwithstanding his extraordinary success in all 
the criminal suits entrusted to him, the abilities dis- 
played by Mr. Clay at this period in civil case3 
were no less brilliant and triumphant. In suits 
growing out of the land laws of Virginia and Ken- 
tucky, he was especially distinguished; rapidly ac- 
quiring wealth and popularity by his practice. It 
is related of him, that on one occasion, in conjunc- 
tion widi another attorney, he was employed to ar- 
gue, in the Fayette Circuit Court, a question of 
great difficulty — one in which the interests of the 
litigant panies were deeply involved. At the open- 
ing of the court, something occurred to call him 
away, and the whole management of the case de- 
volved on his associate counsel. Two dajs were 
spent in discussing the points of law, which were to 
govern the instructions of the Court to the jury, and 



foiled by his antagonist. At the end of the second 
day, Mr. Clay re-entered the Court. He had not 
heard a word of the testimony, and knew nothing of 
the course which the discussion had taken; but, af- 
ter holding a very short consultation with his col- 
league, he drew up a statement of the form in which 
he wished the instructions of the Court to be given 
to the jury, and accompanied his petition with a few 
observations, so entirely novel and satisfactory, that 
it was granted without the least hesitation. A cor- 
responding verdict was instantly returned; and thus 
the case, which had been on the point of being de- 
cided against Mr. Clay's client, resulted in his favor 
in less than half an hour after the young lawyer had 
entered the Court-house. 

For an enumeration of the various cases in which 
Mr. Clay was about this time engaged, and in which 
his success was as marked as his talents were obvi- 
ous, we must refer the curious reader to the records 
of the Courts of Kentucky, and hasten to exhibit the 
subject of our memoir on that more extended field, 
where his history began to be interwoven with the 
history of his country, and a whole nation hailed 
him as a champion worthy of the best days of the 
Republic. 

As early as 1797, when the people of Kentucky 
were about electing a Convention to form a new 
Constitution for that State, Mr. Clay may be said 
to have commenced his political career. His first 
efforts were made on behalf of human liberty, and 
at the risk of losing that breeze of popular favor, 
which was wafting on his bark bravely toward that 
haven of worldly prosperity and renown. 

The most important feature in the plan for a new 
Constitution, submitted to the people of Kentucky, 
was a provision for the prospective eradication ot 
slavery from the State by means of a gradual eman- 
cipation of those held in bondage. Against this 
proposal a tremendous outcry was at once raised. 
It was not to be questioned that the voice of the ma- 
jority was vehemently opposed to it. But young 
Clay did not hesitate as to his course. In that spirit 
of self-sacrifice, which he has since displayed on so 
many occasions, in great public emergencies, with- 
out stopping to reckon the disadvantages to himself, 
he boldly arrayed himself on the side of those 
friendly to emancipation. In the canvass, which 
preceded the election of members of the Convention, 
he exerted himself with all the energy of his nature 
in behalf of that cause, which he believed to be the 
cause of truth and justice. With his voice and pen 
he actively labored to promote the choice of Dele- 
gates who were pledged to its support. He failed 
in the fulfilment of his philanthropic intentions, and 
incurred temporary unpopularity by his course. 
Time, however, is daily making more apparent the 
wisdom of his counsel. 

Mr. Clay has not faltered in his views upon this 
gieat question. They are now what they were in 
1797. In maintaining the policy of this scheme 01 
gradual emancipation he has ever been fearless and 
consistent. Let it not be imagined, however, that 
he has any sympathy with that incendiary spirit 
which would seem to actuate some of the clamorers 
for immediate and unconditional abolition at the 
present time. His views were far-sighted, states- 
man-like and sagacious. He looked to the general 



Ij'je uj Henry Clay. 



good, not merely of his contemporaries Imt of pos- 
terity; and his plan stretched beyond the embarrass- 
ments of the present hour into the future A more 
just, practicable and beneficent scheme than his, for 
the accomplishment of a consummation so devoutly 
to he wished by humanity at large, could not have 
been devised. 

It resembled that adopted in Pennsylvania in the 
year 1781) at the instance of Dr. Franklin, according 
to which, the generation in being were to remain in 
bondage, but all their offspring, born after a speci- 
fied day, were to be free at the age of twenty-eight, 
and, in the mean time, were to receive preparatory 
instruction to qualify them for the enjoyment of 
fieedom. Mr. Clay thought, with many others, that 
as the slave States had severally the right to judge, 
every one exclusively for itself, in respect to the in- 
stitution of domestic slavery, the proportion of 
slaves to the white population in Kentucky at that 
time was so inconsiderable, that a system of gradu- 
al emancipation might have been adopted without 
any hazard to the security and interests of the com- 
monwealth. 

Recently a charge was made by the principal op- 
position paper at the South, that Mr. Clay had johr 
ed the Abolitionists; and the ground of the charge 
was the averment that he had written a letter to Mr. 
(biddings, of Ohio, approving the leading views of 
that party. Upon inquiry, it appeared, however, 
that the letter was written by Cassius M. Clay, a 
namesake. In noticing the erroneous statement, 
Mr. Clay remarked, in a letter to a friend — "I do 
not write letters for different latitudes. I have but 
one heart, and one mind; and all my letters are but 
copies of the original, and if genuine, will be found 
to conform to it, wherever they may be addressed." 

Would that every candidate for the Presidency 
might say this with equal sincerity and truth ! 

Notwithstanding the failure of his exertions in ar- 
resting the continuance of negro servitude in Ken- 
tucky, Mr. Clay has never shrunk from the avowal 
of his sentiments upon the subject, nor from their 
practical manifestation in his professional and poli- 
tic al career. For several years, whenever a slave 
brought an action at law for his liberty, Mr. Clay 
volunteered as his advocate : and he always suc- 
ceeded in obtaining a decision in the slave's favor. 
Oppression in every shape would seem to have 
roused the most ardent sympathies of his soul, and 
to have enlisted his indignant eloquence in behalf of 
its unfriended object. The impulses, which urged 
him at this early day to take the part of the domes- 
tic bondsmen of his own State, were the same with 
those, by which he was instigated, when the ques- 
tions of recognizing South American and Grecian In- 
dependence were presented to the consideration of 
a tardy and calculating Congress. 

During the administration of John Adams, in 1798- 
9, the famous alien and sedition laws were passed. 
The popular opposition with which these extraordi- 
nary measures were received, is still vividly remem- 
bered in the United States. By the " alien law," 
the President was authorized to order any alien, 
whom " he should judge dangerous to the peace and 
safety" of the country " to depart out of the terri- 
tory within such time" as he s-hould judge proper, 
upon penalty of being " imprisoned for a term not 
exceeding three years." Aic. 



The " sedition law" was designed to punish the 
abuse of speech of the press. It imposed a heavy 
pecuniary fine, and imprisonment for a term of years, 
upon such as should combine or conspire together 
to oppose any measure of Government: upon such 
as should write, print, utter, publish, &c, " any 
false, scandalous and malicious writing against the 
Government of the United States or the Presi- 
dent," &c. 

Mr. Clay stood forth one of the earliest champions 
of popular rights in opposition to these inemoriable 
laws. Kentucky was one of the first States that 
launched their thunders against them ; and though 
many speakers came forward to give expression to 
the indignation which was swelling in the public 
heart, none succeeded so well in striking the re- 
sponsive chord as our young lawyer. He was soon 
regarded as the leading spirit of the opposition party ; 
and it was about this time that the title of " The 
Great Commoner" was bestowed upon him. 

A gentleman, who was present at a meeting where 
these obnoxious laws were discussed, describes the 
effect produced by Mr. Clay's eloquence as difficult 
adequately 1o describe. The populace had assem- 
bled in the fields in the vicinity of Lexington, and 
were first addressed by Mr. George Nicholas, a dis- 
tinguished man, and a powerful speaker. The speech 
of Mr. Nicholas was long and eloquent, and he was 
greeted by the most enthusiastic cheers as he con- 
cluded. Clay being called for, promptly appeared, 
and made one of the most extraordinary and impres- 
sive harangues ever addressed to a popular assem- 
bly. A striking evidence of its thrilling and effec- 
tive character may be found in the fact that when 
be ceased, there was no shoul — no applause. So 
eloquently had he interpreted the deep feelings of 
the multitude, that they forgot the orator in the ab- 
sorbing emotions he had produced. A higher com- 
pliment can hardly be conceived. The theme was 
a glorious one for a young and generous mind, filled 
with ardor in behalf of human liberty — and he did it 
justice. The people took Clay and Nicholas upon 
their shoulders, and forcing tbem into a carriage, 
drew them through the streets, amid shouts of ap- 
plause. What an incident for an orator, who had 
not yet completed his twenty second year! 

Four years afterwards, when Mr. Clay was absent 
from the County of Fayette at the Olympian Springs, 
he was brought forward, without his knowledge or 
previous consent, as a candidate, and elected to the 
General Assembly of Kentucky. He soon made 
his influence felt in that body. In 1804, Mr. Felix 
Grundy, then an adroit and well-known politician, 
made an attempt in the Legislature to procure the 
repeal of a law incorporating the Lexington Insu- 
rance Office. He was opposed at every step by Mr. 
Clay; and the war of words between the youthful 
debaters drew to the hall of the House throngs of 
spectators. Grundy had managed to secure before 
hand a majority in bis favor in the House; but the 
members of the Senate flocked in to hear Clay speak, 
and so cogently did he present to their understand- 
ings the impolicy and unconstitutionality of the 
measure under discussion, that they refused to sanc- 
tion it after it had been passed by the other branch, 
and a virtual triumph was thus obtained. 

It is recorded of Mr. Clay, that, in the course of 
the legislative session of 1805, he made an effort to 



Col. Daviess — Aaron Burr. 



procure the removal of ihe seat of Government from I 
Frankfort; and his speech on the occasion is said to 
have been an inimitable specimen of argument and 
humor. Frankfort is peculiar in its appearance and 
situation, being sunk, like a huge pit, below the sur- 
rounding country, and environed by rough and pre- 
cipitous ledges. ",We have," said Mr. Clay, "the 
model of an inverted hat; Frankfort is the body of 
the hat, and the lands adjacent are the brim. To 
chnnge the figure, it is nature's great penitentiary ; 
and if the members of this House would know the 
bodily condition of the prisoners, let him look at 
those poor creatures in the gallery." 

As he said this, he pointed with his finger to half a 
dozen figures that chanced, at that moment, to be 
moving about in the gallery, more like animated 
skeletons than respectable compounds of flesh and 
blood. The objects thus designated, seeing the at- 
tention of the whole assembly suddenly directed to- 
wards them, dodged, with ludicrous haste, behind 
the railing, and the assembly was thrown into a con- 
vulsion of merriment. This argumentum adhomi 
item proved irresistible. The members of the House 
agreed that it was expedient to remove the seat of 
Government, but it was subsequently found impos- 
sible to decide upon a new location, and the 'Legis- 
lature continues to hold its sessions at Frankfort. 

It was an early resolution of Mr. Clay, that no 
litigants, rich or poor, should have, occasion to say 
that for the want of counsel they could not obtain 
justice at every bar where he could appear for them. 
Col. Joseph Hamilton Daviess, at that time United 
.States District Attorney, and a man of influence and 
distinction, had committed an assault and battery 
at Frankfort on Mr. Bush, a respectable citizen, and 
a tavern-keeper at that place. The bar of Frank- 
fort declined instituting an action for the latter 
against Col. D. Bush finally appealed to Henry 
Clay, who promptly undertook the case, and 
brought the suit in Lexington. In the argument of 
a preliminary question, Mr. Clay felt it his duty to 
animadvert with some severity upon the conduct of 
Col. Daviess ; whereupon the latter, after the ad- 
journment of the Court, addressed a note to him, 
remonstrating against his course, and expressing a 
wish that it should not be persevered in. Mr. Clay 
immediately replied that he had undertaken the 
cause of Mr. Bush from a sense of duty; that he 
should submit to no dictation as to his management 
of it, which should be according to his own judge- 
ment exclusively; but that he should hold himself 
responsible for whatever he did or said, in or out of 
Court. A challenge ensued; Mr. Clay accepted it, 
and proceeded to Frankfort for the hostile meeting. 
Therp, by the interposition of mutual friends, the 
affair was accommodated in a manner honorable to 
both parties. 

In the autumn of 1806, the celebrated Aaron Burr 
was arrested in Kentucky, on a charge of being en- 
gaged in an illegal warlike enterprise. The saga- 
city and penetration of that extraordinary man were 
never more clearly evinced than in his application 
to Mr. Clay to defend him Mr. Clay believed, and 
it was generally believed in Kentucky, that the pro- 
secution was groundless, and was instituted by Col. 
Daviess, whom we have already mentioned, who 
was a great admirer of Col. Hamilton, and who dis- 
liked Burr because he had killed Hamilton in a 



duel, and was moreover, his opponent in politics. 
Mr. Clay felt a lively sympathy for Col. Burr, on 
account of his being arrested in a State distant from 
his own, on account of his misfortunes, and the dis- 
tinguished stations he had filled. Still he declined 
appearing for him, until Burr gave him written as- 
surances that he was engaged in no enterprise for- 
bidden by law, and none that was not known and 
approved by the Cabinet at Washington. On re- 
ceiving these assurances, Mr. Clay appeared for 
him; and thinking that Burr ought not to be dealt 
with as an ordinary culprit, he declined receiving 
from him any fee, although a liberal one was ten- 
dered. 

Burr was acquitted. Mr. Clay shortly after pro- 
ceeded to Washington, and received from Mr. Jef- 
ferson an account of the letter in cipher, which had 
been written by Burr to General Wilkinson, to- 
gether with other information of the criminal designs 
of Burr. Mr. Clay handed the written assurances 
above mentioned to Mr. Jefferson at the request of 
the latter. 

On his return from Ghent, Mr. Clay made a brief 
sojourn in the city of New- York, and visited, among 
other places of interest, the Federal Court, then in 
session, escorted by his friend, the late Mr. Smith, 
then Marshall, formerly a Senator from New-York. 
On entering the court-room, in the City Hall, the 
eyes of the bench, bar, officers, and attendants upon 
the Court, were turned upon Mr. C. who was in- 
vited to take a seat on the bench, which he politely 
declined, and took a position in the bar. Shortly 
after, a small gentleman, apparently advanced in 
years, and with bushy, gray hair, whom Mr Clay 
for an instant did not recognize, approached him. 
He quickly perceived it was Col. Burr, who ten- 
dered his hand to salute Mr. Clay. The latter de- 
clined receiving it. The Colonel, nevertheless, was 
not repulsed, but engaged in conversation with Mr. 
Clay, remarking, that he had understood that, be- 
sides the treaty of peace, the American Commis- 
sioners had nrgociated a good Commercial Conven- 
tion with Great Britain. Mr. Clay replied coldly, 
that such a convention was concluded, and that its 
terms would be known as soon as it was promul- 
gated by public authority. Col. B. expressed a 
wish to have an hour's interview with him, and Mr. 
C. told him where he stopped — but the Colonel 
never called. Thus terminated all the intercourse 
which ever took place between Henry Clay and 
Aaron Burr. And yet even out of materials like 
these Detraction has tried to manufacture weapons 
for its assaults ! 

CHAPTER II. 

Elected to the Senate of the United States— His first Speech, in 
favor of Internal Improvements— Is chosen Spenker of the 
Kentucky House of Assembly— Speeches and Reports — Reso- 
lutions in favor of American Manufactures— Duel with Hum- 
phrey Marshall— His sentiments in regard to Dueling— Takes 
his sent a second time in the United States Senate— Speaks in 
behalf of Domestic Manufactures— Lays the foundation of 
the American System— Speech on the line of the Perdido — 
Labors of the Session- Third Session of the Eleventh Con- 
gress—The United States Bank— He becomes a member of the 
United States House of Representatives— Is chosen Speaker 
on the first ballot — Critical state of Public Affairs — Is in favor 
of a War with Great. liritnin— Speech on the bill for raising 
Troops— On a Naval Establishment — Carries his Measures— 
Our Naval successes. 

On the twenty-ninth of December, 1806, Mr. Clay 
produced his credentials, and took his seat in the 
Senate of the United States. He had been elected 



8 



L'fc of Henry Clay. 



by the Legislature of the State of Kentucky to fill 
a vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the Hon. 
John Adair; and, from the journals of Congress, he 
seems to have entered at once, actively upon the 
discharge of the duties of his new and exalted 
position. His first Speech was in favor of the 
erection of abridge over the Potomac River; and 
at this period we perceive the dawning of those 
* iews of ' Internal Improvement,' which he after- 
ward carried out so ably, and his advocacy of which 
should alone be sufficient to entitle him to the last- 
ing gratitude of the Country. He amused the 
Senate on this occasion by quoting a passage from 
Peter Pindar, as applicable to a Senator by whom 
he had been assailed, and who was remarkable for 
the expression of superior sagacity which his coun- 
tenance was wont to assume when he rebuked the 
younger members of the body. The picture was 
apt and graphic : 

" Thns have I seen a magpie in the street, 
A chattering bird, we often meet ; 
A bird for curiosity well known, 

With head awry, nnd cunning eye. 
Peep knowingly into a marrow-bone." 

This Speech was soon followed by his presenta- 
tion of a Resolution advocating the expediency of 
appropriating a quantity of land toward the opening 
of the Canal proposed to be cut at the Rapids of 
the Ohio, on the Kentucky shore. 

The subject of appropriations for Internal Im- 
provements was at that time a novelty. So far as 
it related to the establishment of Post-Roads, it had, 
it is true, been discussed in February, 1795; but no 
formal opinion of Congress was expressed, so as to 
be a precedent for future action. 

A Committee, consisting of Messrs. Clay, Giles 
nnd Baldwin, was now appointed to consider the 
new Resolution, and on the twenty-fourth of Feb- 
ruary, 1807, Mr. Clay made an able Report to the 
Senate, in which we find the following passage: — 
" How far it is the policy of the Government to aid 
' in works of this kind, when it has no distinct in- 
' terest; whether, indeed, in such a case, it has the 
■ Constitutional power of patronage and encourage- 
' ment, it is not necessary to be decided in the present 
' instance." A few days afterward, he reported a 
bill providing for the appointment of Commissioners 
to ascertain the practicability of removing the ob- 
structions in the navigation of the Ohio at the Rapids. 
This bill passed the Senate by a vote of eighteen to 
eight. 

The following resolution, presented the day of the 
passage of the bill, shows that Mr. Clay thus early 
in his career was deeply impressed with the impor- 
tance of a system of Internal Improvement. He 
may truly be called the father of that system, which 
has so incalculably advanced the general prosperity 
of the Republic : — 

" Resolved, That the Secretary of the Treasury 
be directed to prepare and report to the Senate at 
their next session, a plan for the application of such 
means as are within the power of Congress, to the 
purposes of opening Roads and making Canals; to- 
gether with a statement of undertakings of that na- 
ture, which, as objects of public improvement, may 
require and deserve the aid of Government; and, 
also, a statement of works, of the nature mentioned, 
which have been commenced, the progress which 
has been made in them, and the means and prospect 
of their being completed ; and all such information i 



as, in the opinion of the Secretary, shall be material 
in relation to the objects of this resolution." 

The resolution was passed with but three dissent- 
ing voices. 

During this session an attempt was made to sus- 
pend the Habeas Corpus Act, for the purpose oi 
enabling the President to arrest, without going 
through the forms and delays of the law, Col. Burr, 
of whose evil intentions there was now sufficient 
proof. Mr. Clay did not speak on the motion, but 
his vote was recorded against it, not through any 
tenderness towards Burr, but because of the danger 
ot instituting such a precedent against the liberty of 
the citizen. The motion was, however, carried in 
the Senate, but defeated in the House of Represent- 
atives. 

Mr. Clay's election to the Senate of the United 
States had been but for the fraction of a term, 
amounting to a single session. In the summer ol 
1807, he was again chosen by the citizens of Fay- 
ette to represent them in the Kentucky Legislature, 
and at the next session he was elected Speaker ot 
the Assembly. In this position he did not content 
himself with faithfully discharging the ordinary du- 
ties of a Speaker. He entered the arena of debate, 
and took an acthe part in most of the important 
discussions before the House. A motion having 
been made to prohibit the reading in the Courts of 
Kentucky of any British decision, or elementary 
work on Law, he opposed it with a vigor nnd elu- 
queuce that could not fail of effect. More than four- 
fifths of the Members of the House had evinced a 
determination to vote for the motion. It was argued 
that the Americans, as an independent people, ought 
not to suffer themselves to be governed, in the ad- 
ministration of justice, by the legal decisions of a 
foreign power. Mr. Clay had to contend against a 
most formidable array of popular prejudice. To 
obviate one of the most potent arguments of the 
friends of the motion, he ingeniously moved to 
amend it by limiting the exclusion of British deci- 
sions from Kentucky to those only which have taken 
place since the 4th of July, 1776, the date of Ameri- 
can Independence, and suffering all which preceded 
that period to remain in force. He maintained that 
before the declaration of our independence, the Brit- 
ish and Americans were the same nation, and the 
laws of the one people were those of the other. He 
then entered upon one of the most eloquent ha- 
rangues that ever fell from his lips. He exposed 
the barbarity of a measure which would annihilate, 
for all practical uses in the State, the great body of 
the Common Law ; which would " wantonly make 
wreck of a system fraught with the intellectual 
wealth of centuries, and whelm its last fragment 
beneath the wave." 

Those who had the good fortune to hear Mr. Clay 
on this occasion, describe his speech as one of trans 
cendent power, beauty' and pathos. A gentleman, 
who was a partaker in the effect produced by his 
eloquence, says: — " Every muscle of the orator's 
' face was in motion ; his whole body seemed ngi- 
' tated, as if every part were instinct with a separate 
' life; and his small, white hand, with its blue veins 
' apparently distended almost to bursting, moved 
' gracefully, but with all the energy of rapid ard ve- 
' hement gesture. The appearance of the speaker 
• seemed that of a pure intellect wrought up to its 



The Embargo — Duel with Humphrey Marshall. 



' mightiest energies, and brightly glowing through 
' the thin and transparent veil of flesh that enrobed 
* it." 

It is almost needless to add that Mr. Clay pre- 
vailed on this occasion in turning the tide in his fa- 
vor, and the original motion was rejected. 

A report drawn up by him in 1809 upon a question 
of disputed election is worthy of notice in this place. 
The citizens of Hardin County, who were entitled 
to two Representatives in the General Assembly, 
had given 436 votes for Charles Helm, 350 for Sam- 
uel Haycraft, and 271 for John Thomas. The fact 
being ascertained that Mr. Haycraft held an office 
of profit under the Commonwealth, at the time of 
the election, a constitutional disqualification attach- 
ed and excluded him. He was ineligible, and there- 
fore could not be entitled to his seat. It remained to 
inquire into the pretensions of Mr. Thomas. His 
claim could only be supported by a total rejection 
of the votes given by Mr. Haycraft, as void to all 
intents whatever. Mr. Clay contended that those 
votes, though void and ineffectual in creating any 
right in Mr. Haycraft to a seat in the House, could 
not affect, in any manner, the situation of his com- 
petitor. Any other exposition would be subversive 
of the great principle of Free Government, that the 
majority shall prevail. It would operate as a fraud 
upon the People; for it could not be doubted that 
the votes given to Mr. Haycraft were bestowed under 
a full persuasion that he had a right to receive them. 
It would, in fact, be a declaration that disqualifica- 
tion produced qualification — that the incapacity of 
one man capacitated another to hold a seat in that 
House. The Committee, therefore, unanimously 
decided that neither of the gentlemen was entitled 
to a seat. 

Such were the principles of Mr. Clay's Report. 
It was unanimously adopted by the House; and its 
doctrines have ever since governed the Kentucky 
Elections. 

In December, 1808, Mr. Clay introduced before 
the Legislature of Kentucky a series of Resolutions 
approving the Embargo, denouncing the British 
Orders in Council, pledging the cooperation of Ken- 
tucky to any measures of opposition to British ex- 
actions, upon which the General Government might 
determine, and declaring that "Tho.iias Jefferson 
' is entitled to the thanks of hit Country for the 
' ability, uprightness and intelligence which he has 
' displayed in the management both of our Foreign 
' Relations and Domestic Concerns.'" 

Mr. Humphrey Marshall opposed these Resolu- 
tions with extraordinary vehemence, and introduced 
Amendatory Resolutions of a directly opposite ten- 
dency; hut Mr. Marshall was the only one who 
voted in favor of the latter. Mr. Clay's original 
Resolutions were adopted by a vote of sixty-four 
to one. 

Soou after this event, Mr. Clay introduced a Reso- 
lution recommending that every Member, for the pur- 
pose of encouraging the Industry of the Country, 
should clothe himself in garments of Domestic 
Manufacture. This Resolution was at once most 
emphatically denounced by Mr. Humphrey Mar- 
shall, who stigmatized it as the project of a dema- 
gogue, and applied a profusion of harsh and un- 
generous epithets to the mover. Mr. Clay retorted, 
and the quarrel went on until it terminated in a hos- 



tile encounter. The parties met, and by the first 
shot Mr. Marshall was slightly wounded. They 
stood up a second time, and Mr. Clay received a 
hardly perceptible flesh wound in the leg. The 
seconds now interfered, and prevented a continuance 
of the combat. 

Mr. Clay was once again called upon in the course 
of his political career, by the barbarous exactions of 
society, to consent to a hostile encounter; but we 
are confident that no man at heart abominates the 
custom more sincerely than he. The following pas- 
sage in relation to this subject occurs in an address, 
which, in his maturer years, he made to his constit- 
uents : " I owe it to the community to say, that what- 
ever heretofore I may have done, or by inevitable cir- 
cumstances might be forced to do, no man in it holds 
in deeper abhorrence than I do that pernicious prac- 
tice. Condemned as it must be by the judgment 
and philosophy, to say nothing of the religion, of ev- 
ry thinking man, it is an affair of feeling about which 
wc cannot, although we should, reason. Its true 
corrective will be found when all shall unite, as all 
ought to unite, in its unqualified proscription." 

When the bill to suppress duelling in the District 
of Columbia came before the Senate of the United 
States in the spring of 1838, Mr. Clay snid, no man 
would be happier than he to see the whole barbar- 
ous system forever eradicated. It was well known, 
that in certain quarters of the country, public opin- 
ion was averse from duelling, and no man could fly 
in the face of that puhlic opinion, without having hi3 
reputation sacrificed ; but there were other portions 
again which exacted obedience to the fatal custom. 
The man with a high sense of honor, and nice sen- 
sibility, when the question is whether he shall fight 
or have the finger of scorn pointed at him, is unable 
to resist, and few, very few, are found willing to 
adopt such an alternative. When public opinion 
shall be renovated, and chastened by reason, religion 
and humanity, the practice of duelling will at once 
be discountenanced. It is the office of legislation to 
do all it can to bring about that healthful state of tho 
public mind, and although it may not altogether ef- 
fect so desirable a. result yet he had no doubt it 
would do much towards it, and with these views, he 
would give his vote for the bill. 

In the winter session of Congress in 1809-10, Mr. 
Clay took his seat a second time in the Senate of the 
United States. He had been elected by the legisla- 
ture by a handsome majority to supply a vacancy 
occasioned by the resignation of Mr. BucknerThrus- 
ton, whose term wanted two years of its completion. 
From this period the public history of Mr. Clay may 
be found diffused through the annals of the Union. 
The archives of the republic, are the sources from 
which the materials for his biography may be hence- 
forth derived. When time shall have removed the 
inducements for interested praise or censure, poster- 
it y will point to the records of his civic achievements, 
glorious though bloodless, no less as furnishing a 
well established title to their admiration and grati- 
tude than as a perpetual monument of his fame. 

The predilections which Mr. Clay had early man- 
ifested in behalf of American manufactures and Amer- 
ican principles, were unequivocally avowed in his 
first speech before the Senate on being elected a se 
cond time to that body as far back as April, 1810. A 
bill was under discussion appropriating a sum o 



10 



Life of Henry Clay, 



money for procuring munitions of war, and (brother 
purposes; and an amendment had been proposed, 
instructing the Secretary of the Navy, to provide 
su; plies of cordage, sail-cloth, hemp, &e, and to give 
a preference lo those of American growth and man- 
ufacture. Mr. Lloyd of Massachusetts moved to 
strike out this part of the amendment; and a discus- 
sion arose concerning (he general policy of promo 
ting domestic manufactures, in which Mr. Clay bold- 
ly declared himself its advocate. 

The fallacious course of reasoning urged by many 
against domestic manufacture.--, namely, the distress 
and servitude produced by those of England, he said 
would equally indicate the propriety of abandoning 
agriculture itself. Were we to cast our eyes upon 
the miserable peasantry of Poland, and revert to the 
days of feudal vassalage, we might thence draw nu- 
merous arguments against the pursuits of the hus- 
bandman. In short, take the black side of the pic- 
ture, and every human occupation will be found 
pregnant with fatal objections. 

The sentiments avowed thus early in our legisla- 
tive history by Mr. Clay are now current through- 
out our vast community; and the "American Sys- 
tem," as it has been called, is generally admitted to 
be not only a patriotic, but a politic system. But 
let it not be forgotten, that it is to the persevering 
and unremitted exertions of Henry Clay, that we 
are indebted for the planting and the cherishing of 
that goodly tree, under the fur-spreading branches of 
which so many find protection and plenty at the pre- 
sent day. 

The amendments advocated by Mr. Clay on this 
occasion were adopted, and the bill was passed. 
The first step toward the establishment of his mag- 
nificent." system " was taken. 

Another speech in which he distinguished himself 
during the session, is that upon the question of the 
right of the United States to the territory lying be- 
tween the rivers Mississippi, and Perdido, compri- 
sing the greater part of Western Florida. This im- 
portant region, out of which the States of Alabama 
nnd Mississippi have since been formed, was claimed 
by Spain as a part of her Florida domain. The Pres- 
dent, Mr. Madison, had issued a proclamation de- 
claring the region annexed to the Orleans Territory, 
and subject to the laws of the United States. The 
Federalists maintained that we had no claim to 
the Territory— that it belonged to Spain— and that 
Great Britain as her ally, would not consent to see 
herrobbed. 

Mr. Clay stepped forth as the champion of the de- 
mocracy and the President, and eloquently vindica- 
ted the title of the United States to the land. His 
arguments evince much research, ingenuity and lo- 
gical skill ; and on this as on all occasions, he man- 
ifested that irrepressible sympathy with the people 
— the mass — his eloquent expressions of which had 
gained him in Kentucky the appellation of the 
Great Commoner. Mr. Horsey, one of the Sena- 
tors from Delaware, had bemoaned the fate of the 
Spanish king. Mr. Clay said in reply: "I shall 
1 leave the honorable gentleman from Delaware to 
4 mourn over the fortunes of the fallen Charles. I 
'have no commiseration for princes. My sympa- 
thies ARE RESERVED FOR THE GREAT MASS of 

' mankind ; and I own that the people of Spain have 
*. them most sincerely." 



With regard to the deprecated wrath of Great 
Britain, Mr. Clay said, with a burst of .indignant el- 
oquence, which is but inadequately conveyed in the 
reported speech : "Sir, is the time never to arrive, 
' when we may manage our own affairs, without the 
' fear of insulting his Britannic majesty ? Is the, rod 
' of British power to be forever suspended over our 
' heads ? Does Congress put on an embargo to shcl- 
' ter our rightful commerce against the piratical dc- 
' predations committed upon it on the ocean ? We 
' are immediately warned of the indignation of Eng- 
' land. Is a law of non-intercouse proposed ? The 
' whole navy of the haughty Mistress of the Seas is 
' made to thunder in our ears. Does the President 
'refuse to continue a correspondence with a Minis- 
' ter, who violates the decorum belonging to his di- 
plomatic character, by giving and deliberately re- 
'peatingan affront to the whole nation ? We are 
' instantly menaced with the chastisement whi< h 
' English pride will not fail to inflict. Whether we 
' assert our rights by sea, or attempt their mainlen- 
' ance by land— whithersoever we turn ourselves, 
' this phantom incessantly pursues us! " 

The strong American feeling, the genuine demo- 
cratic dignity, which pervade this Speech are char- 
acteristic of the man and of the principles, which, 
throughout a long and trying public career, he has 
steadfastly maintained. And yet we find new-fledged 
politicians and dainty demagogues of modern fush- 
ionable manufacture, charging this early and con- 
sistent leader of the Democracy — this friend and 
supporter of Jefferson and of Madison — this main 
pillar of the, Party, who originated and conducted 
to a glorious termination the last War — charging 
him with Federalism and Aristocracy ! Every act 
of his life — every recorded word that ever fell from 
his lips gives the lie to the imputation. 

Mr. Clay's labors during this Session appear to 
have been arduous and diversified — showing on his 
part unusual versatility, industry and powers of ap- 
plication. He was placed on several important Com- 
mittees, and seems to have taken part in all discus- 
sions of moment. On the 2Gth of Match, 1810, from 
the Committee to whom was recommitted a bill grant- 
ing a right of preemption to purchasers of Public 
Lands in certain cases, he reported it with amend- 
ments, which were read ; and, after undergoing some 
alterations, it was again recommitted, reported, and 
finally passed by the Senate. Mr. Clay was the 
early friend of the poor settler on the Public Lands, 
and he has always advocated a policy which, while 
it is extremely liberal toward that class, is consist- 
ent with perfect justice to the People at large, who 
are the legitimate owners of the Public Domain. 

On the 29th of March Mr. Clay brought in a bill 
s ipplementary to an act entitled " An Act to Regu- 
' late Trade and Intercourse with the Indian Tribes, 
' and to preserve Peace on the Frontier." The bill 
was referred to a Committee, of which he was ap- 
pointed Chairman ; and to his intelligent labors in 
their behalf, the People of the West were indebted 
for measures of protection of the most efficient 
character. 

The 20th of April succeeding, on motion of Mr. 
Clay, the bill to enable the People of the Orleans 
Territory, now Louisiana, to foim a Constitution 
and Government was amended by a provision re- 
quiring that the Laws, Records and Legislative Pro- 



United States Bank — British Aggression. 



11 



ceediugs of the State should be in the English lan- 
guage. On the 27th of the same month he had 
leave of absence for the rest of the Session, after 
accomplishing an amount of public business that 
few men could have despatched with so much 
promptitude, ability and advantage to the Country. 

The Third Session of the Eleventh Congress com- 
menced on the 3d of December, 1810. Mr. Clay was 
once more in his seat in the Senate. 

The subject of renewing the Charter of the United 
States Bank was now the great topic before Con- 
gress. Mr. Clay had been instructed by the Legis- 
lature of Kentucky to oppose a recharter; and his 
own convictions at the time accorded with theirs. 
He addressed the Senate at some length in oppo- 
sition to the proposed measure. He lived to rectify 
his opinions on this important question; and his 
reasons for the change must be satisfactory to every 
candid mind. They are given in an Address to his 
constituents in Lexington, dated the 3d of June, 1816. 

In a Speech to the same constituents, delivered 
the 9th of June, 1812, he alludes to the subject in 
these terms : 

" I never but once changed my opinion on any 
great measure of national policy, or any great prin- 
ciple of construction of the National Constitution. 
In early life, on deliberate consideration, I adopted 
the principles of interpreting the Federal Constiu- 
tion, which had been so ably developed and enforced 
by -Mr. Madison in his memorable Report to the Vir- 
ginia Lesislature; and to them, as I understood 
them, I have constantly adhered. Upon the ques- 
tion coming up in the Senate of the United States, 
to recharter the first Bank of the United States thirty 
years ago, I opposed the recharter upon convictions 
which I honestly entertained. The experience of 
the War which shortly followed, the condition into 
which the Currency of the Country was thrown, 
without a Bank, and, I may now add, later and more 
disastrous experience, convinced me I was wrong. 1 
publicly stated to my constituents, in a Speech at 
Lexington, (that which I had made in the House of 
Representatives not having been reported) my rea- 
sons for that change; and they are preserved in the 
archives of the Country. I appeal to that record; 
and I am willing to be judged now and hereafter by 
their validity. 

"I do not advert to the fact of this solitary in- 
stance of change of opinion, as implying any per- 
sonal merit, but because it is a fact. I will, how- 
ever, say that I think it very perilous to the utility 
of any public man to make frequent changes of 
opinion, or any change, but upon grounds so suf- 
ficient and palpable that the public can clearly see 
and approve them."' 

Many important subjects were discussed by the 
Senate during the Session of 1 810-11 ; and Jlr. Clay 
was in all of them conspicuous. His zeal and 
efficiency in the Public Service began to attract the 
eyes of the whole Country. He was not the Repre- 
sentative of Kentucky alone. His capacious heart 
and aciive mind, uncontracted by sectional jealous- 
ies or local bigotry, comprehended the entire Union 
in their embrace. 

At the expiration of his second fractional term of 
service in the Senate of the United States, having 
returned to Kentucky, he was elected a member of 
the Federal House of Representatives. Congress 
convened on the day designated by Proclamation, 
the fourth day of November, 1811; and, on the first 
ballot for Speaker, 128 members being: present, he 
was chosen by a majority of 31, over all opposition. 



The affairs of the Nation were never in a more 
critical position than at this juncture. The honor 
of the Republic was at stake. A long series of out- 
rages perpetrated against our Commerce by England 
and by Fiance had reached a hight, at which farther 
toleration would have been pusillanimous. Under 
the Berlin and Milan Decrees of Napoleon, our ships 
were seized and our property confiscated by the 
French in a manner to provoke the warmest indig- 
nation of a free People. Great Britain vied with 
France, and finally far surpassed her in her acts of 
violence and rapine toward us. Each of the bel- 
ligerent nations sought a pretext in the conduct ot 
the other for her own injustice. 

At length France, in answer to our remonstrances, 
repealed her odious Decrees so far as we were con- 
cerned, and practically abandoned her system of 
seizure and oppression. Great Britain did not fol- 
low her example. 

A year had elapsed since the French Decrees 
were rescinded ; but Great Britain persisted in her 
course, — affecting to deny their extinction. The 
ships of the United States, laden with the produce 
of our soil and labor, navigated by our own citizens 
and peaceably pursuing a lawful trad", were seized 
on our coasts, and, at the very mouth of our own 
harbors, condemned and confiscated. But it was 
the ruffianly system of impressment — by which 
American freemen, pursuing a lawful life of hard- 
ship and daring on the ocean, were liable to be 
seized, in violation of the rights of our flag, forced 
into the naval service of a foreign Power, and made, 
perhaps, the instruments of similar oppression to- 
ward their own countrymen ; — it was this despotic 
and barbarous system that principally roused the 
warlike spirit of Congress and the Nation. And 
Posterity will admit that this cause of itself was an 
all-sufficient justification for hostile measures. The 
spirit of that People must have been debased in- 
deed, which could have tamely submitted to such 
aggressions. 

The feelings of Mr. Clay on this subject seem to 
have been of the intensest description. Though 
coming from a State distant from the sea-board, 
the wrongs and indignities practiced against our 
mariners by British arrogance and oppression, fired 
his soul and stirred his whole nature to resistance. 
To him, the idea of succumbing a moment to such 
degrading outrages wis intolerable. The Nation 
had been injured and insulted. England persisted 
in her injuries and insults. It was useless to tem- 
porise longer. He was for war, prompt, open and 
determined war. He communicated to others the 
electric feelings that animated his own breast. He 
wreaked all bis energies on this great cause. 

In appointing the Committee on Foreign Rela- 
tions, to whom the important question was to be 
referred, he was careful to select a majority of such 
Members as partook of his own decided views. 
Peter B. Porter, of New York, was the Chairman ; 
and, on the 29th of November, he made a Report, in 
which the Committee earnestly recommended, in 
the words of the President, "that the United States 
' be immediately put into an armor and attitude de 
' manded by the crisis, and corresponding with the 
' national spirit and expectations." They submit- 
ted appropriate Resolutions for the carrying out o 
this great object. 



12 



Life of Henry Clay. 



On the 31st of December, the House resolved 
itself into a Committee of the Whole, Mr. Brecken- 
ridge in the Chair, on a bill from the Senate, pro- 
viding for the raising of twenty-five thousand troops. 
Of this measure, Mr. Clay was the warmest, and at 
the same time most judicious, advocate. He ad- 
dressed the House eloquently in its behalf, and 
urged it forward on all occasions with his best 
energies. 

He contended that the real cause of British 
aggression was not to distress France, as many 
maintained, but to destroy a rival. " She saw," 
continued he, " in your numberless ships, which 
' whitened every sea — in your hundred and twenty 
' thousand gallant tars — the seeds of a naval force, 
' which in thirty years would rival her on her own 
' element. She therefore commenced the odious 
' system of Impressment, of which no language 
' can paint my execration ! She dared to attempt 
' the subversion of the personal freedom of your 
' mariners ! " 

In concluding, Mr. Clay said he trusted that he 
had fully established the^e thiee poisitions : — That 
the quantum of the force proposed by the bill was 
not too great; that its nature was such as the con- 



Bainbriiigfs and Perrys — let us not forget the States 
man, but for whose provident sagacity and intrepid 
spirit, the opportunity of performing those exploits 
might never have been afforded. 



CHAPTER III. 



Mr. Clay prefers a seat in the House to one in the Senate— Hea 
sons for making him Speaker — The President recommends an 
Embargo — The measure opposed by John Randolph and Jo- 
siah Quincy— Defended by Mr. Clay— His intercourse with 
Randolph— War declared— The Leaders in the House— Mr. 
Clievea and Mr. Gallatin— Mr. Clay appointed to confer with 
President Madison— Anecdotes— Events of the War— Mo- 
tives— Federal Abuse— Clay's Reply to Quincy— Effects of 
his Eloquence— Passage of the Army Bill— Madison re-elected 
President— Mr. Clay resigns the Speaker's Chair, being ap- 
pointed Commissioner to Client— His services during the War. 

The cause of Mr. Clay's transference from the 
Senate to the House of Representatives was his 
own preference, at the time, of a seat in the popular 
branch. His immediate appointment as Speaker 
was, under the circumstances, a rare honor, and 
one never, before or since, conferred on a new Mem- 
ber. Among the qualifications which led to his 
selection for that high station was his known firm- 



ness, which would check any attempt to domineer 
templated War called for;" and that th~e~ o'bjecTof I over the House; and many Members had a special 
the War was justified by every consideration of I v,ew to a P ro P er restrilin t «P°n Mr- John Randolph 
justice, of interest, of honor ami love of country. I of Vir g' nia > w!l °> through the fears of Mr. Varnum, 



and the partiality entertained for him by Mr. Macon, 
the two preceding Speakers, had exercised a con- 
trol which, it was believed, was injurious to the 
deliberations of the body. 

On the first of April, 1812, the following confiden- 
tial communication from the President to Congress 
was received : 

" Considering it as expedient, under existing cir- 
cumstances and prospects, that a general embargo 
be laid on all vessels now in port or hereafter arri- 
ving, for the period of sixty days, I recommend the 
immediate passage of a law to that effect. 

" JAMES MADISON." 
This proposition was immediately discussed in 
the House in secret session, Mr. Clay took an active 
part in the debate. He gave to the measure reeom- 
our harbors, and laying under contributions our j mended by the President his ardent and unqualified 
cities— a force competent to punish the insolence of j support. " I approve of it," said he, " because 
the commander of any single ship, and to preserve 1T ls T0 BE viewed as a direct precursor to 



Unless that object were at once attained by peace- 
ful means, he hoped that war would be waged be- 
fore the close of the Session. 

The bill passed the House on the 4th of January 
succeeding ; and, on the 22d of the same month, the 
Report of the Committee, to whom that part of the 
President's Message relating; to a Naval Establish- 
ment was referred, being under discussion, Mr. Clay 
spoke in favor of an increase of the Navy, advo- 
cating the building of ten frigates. 

In his remarks, on this occasion, he contended 
that a description of naval force entirely within our 
means was that, which would be sufficient to pre- 
vent any single vessel, of whatever metal, from en- 
dangering our whole coasting trade — blocking up 



in our own jurisdiction the inviolability of our peace 
and our laws. 

" Is there," he asked, " a reflecting man in the 
' nation who would not charge Congress with a 
'culpable neglect of its duty, if, for the want of 
' such a force, a single ship were to bombard one of 
'our cities? Would not every honorable member 
' of the Committee indict on himself the bitterest re- 
' proaches, if, by failing to make an inconsiderable 
' addition to our little gallant Navy, a single British 
' vessel should place New-York under contribution !" 

On the 29th of January, 1812, the bill to increase 
the Navy passed the House by a handsome majority- 
To Mr. Clay's eloquent advocacy of the measure, 
the Country is largely indebted for the glorious 
naval successes which afterward shed a new and 
undying lustre upon our history. But for the gal- 
lant and effective Navy, which sprang up under 
such auspices, the main arm of our defence would 
have been crippled, While we contemplate with 
pride our achievements upon the sea — the memo- 
rable deeds of our Lawrences, Decaturs, Hulls, 



WAR. 

Among the most vehement opponents of the mea- 
sure were John Randolph, of Virginia, and Josiah 
Quincy, of Massachusetts. Mr. Randolph said that 
the honorable Speaker was mistaken when he said 
the message was for war. Mr. R. had " too much 
' reliance on the wisdom and virtue of the President 
' to believe that he would be guilty of such gross 
' and unparalleled treason." He maintained that 
the proposed embargo was not to be regarded as an 
inital step to war — but as a subterfuge — a retreat 
from battle. " What new cause of war," he asked, 
" or of an embargo has arisen within the last twelve 
' months ? The affair of the Chesapeake is settled : 
' no new principles of blockade have been interpola- 
' ted in the laws of nations. Every man of candor 
' would ask why did not, then, go to war twelve 
' months ago." 

" What new cause of war has been avowed !" said 
Mr. Clay in reply — " The affair of the Chesapeake 
is settled, to be sure, but only to paralyze the spirit 
of the country. Has Great Britain abstained Irom 
impressing uur seamen — from depredating upon our 



Declaration of War with Great Britain. 



13 



property ? We have complete proof, in h^r capture 
of our ships, in her exciting our frontier Indians to 
hostility, and in her sending an emissary to our 
cities to excite civil war, that she will do everything 
to destroy us: our resolution and spirit aie our only 
dependence. Although I feel warmly upon this 
sui.jert,'' continued he, " I pride myself upon those 
t'.'eiints, and should despise myself if I were desti- 
tute of them." 

Mr. Quincy expressed in strong terms his abhor- 
rence of the proposed measure. He said that his ob- 
jections were, that it was not what it pretended to 
be; and was what it pretended not to be. That it 
was not embargo preparatory to war; but that it was 
embargo as a substitute fur the question uf declaring 
war. "1 object to it," said he, "because it is no 
'efficient preparation ; because it is, not a progress 
' towards honorable war, but a subterfuge from the 
' question. If we must perish, let us perish by any 
' hand except our own. Any fate is better than self- 
' slaughter." 

Against this storm of opposition Henry Clay pre- 
sented an undaunted front. As the debate was car- 
ried on with closed doors, no ample record of it is in 
existence. But a member of Congress, who was 
present, says : " On this occasion Mr. Clay was a 
' flame of fire. He had now brought Congress to 
' the verge of what he conceived to be a war for lib- 
' erty and honor, and his voice rang through the cap- 
' itol like a trumpet-tone sounding for the onset. On 
' the subject of the policy of the embargo, his elo- 
' qitence, like a Roman phalanx, bore down all op- 
' position, and he put to shame those of his oppo- 
' nents, who flouted the government as being unpre- 
• pared for war." 

The .Message recommending an embargo was re- 
ferred to the committee on Foreign Relations, who 
reported a bill for carrying it into effect, which was 
adopted by the House. In the Senate ii underwent 
a slight alteration in the substitution of ninety for 
sixty days as the term of the embargo. This amend- 
ment whs concurred in; and on the fourth of April, 
Mr. Crawford reported the presentation of the bill 
to the President, and that it had received his signa- 
ture. 

Through the indefatigable exertions of Mr. Clay 
and his associates, the altitude of resistance to ag- 
gression was now boldly assumed — the first step was 
taken towards a definite declaration of war. 

On assuming the duties of the Speakership, Mr. 
Clay had foreseen, from the peculiar character and 
constitution of mind of that remarkable and distin- 
guished man, John Randolph, that it would be ex- 
tremely difficult to maintain with him relations of 
civility and friendship. He, therefore, resolved to 
Hct on the principle of never giving and never receiv- 
ing an insult without immediate notice, if lie were 
in a place where it could be noticed. Their mode of 
intercourse or non-intercourse was most singular. 
Sometimes weeks, months would pass without their 
speaking to each other. Then, for an equal space 
of time, no two gentlemen could treat each other 
with more courtesy and attention. Mr. Randolph, 
on entering the House in the morning, while these 
better feelings prevailed, would frequently approach 
the Chair, bow respectfully to the Speaker, and in- 
quire after his health. 

But Mr. Randolph was impatient of all restraints, 
and could not brook those which were sometimes 



applied to himself by the Speaker in the discharge 
of the duiies of the Chair. On one occasion he ap- 
pealed to his constituents, and was answered by Mr. 
Clay. The case was this : Mr. Clay, in one of his 
morning rides, passed through Georgetown, where 
Mr. Randolph, the late Mr. J. Lewis, of Virginia, 
and other members of Congress boarded. Meeting 
with Mr. Lewis, that gentleman inquired of him, if 
there were any news? Mr. Clay informed him, that 
on the Monday following, President Madison would 
send a message to Congress, recommending a decla- 
ration of war against Great Britain. 

The day after this meeting, Mr. Randolph came 
to the House, and having addressed the Speaker in 
a very rambling, desultory speech for about an hour, 
he was reminded from the chair, that there was no 
question pending before the House. Mr. Randolph 
said lie would present one. He was requested to 
state it. He stated that he meant to move a resolu- 
tion, that it was not expedient to declare war against 
Great Britain." The Speaker, according to a rule of 
the House, desired him to reduce his resolution to 
writing, and to send it to the chair; which he ac- 
cordingly did. And thereupon the Speaker informed 
him, that before lie could proceed in his speech, the 
House must decide that it would now consider his 
resolution. Upon putting that question to the 
House, it was decided by a large majority, that it 
would not consider the resolution; and thus Mr. 
Randolph was prevented from haranguing the House 
farther in its support. Of ibis lie complained, and 
published an address to his constituents. 

Some expressions in this address seeming to re- 
quire notice, Mr. Clay addressed a communication 
under his own name, to the editor of the National 
Intelligencer, in which he reviews the questions at 
issue between him and Mr. Randolph, and vindicates 
the justice of his recent decisions in the chair. 

" Two principles," he says, "are settled by these 
decisions; the first is, that the House has a right 
to know, through its organ, the specific motion 
which a member intends making, before he under- 
takes to argue it at large ; and in the second place, 
that it reserves to itself the exercise of the power 
of determining whether it will consider it at the 
particular time when offered, prior to his thus pro- 
ceeding to argue it." 

Every succeeding Congress has acknowledged the 
validity of the principles thus established by Mr. 
Clay They seem essential to the proper regulation 
of debate in a huge legislative, body." 

A bill from the Committee on Foreign Relations 
was reported to the House, on the third of June, 1812, 
declaring War between Great Britain and her de- 
pendencies and the United States. On the eighteenth 
it had passed both Houses of Congress; and the next 
day the President's proclamation was issued, declar- 
ing the actual existence of War. On the sixth of 
July, Congress adjourned to the first Monday in No- 
vember. 

Mr. Clay, Mr. Lowndes, Mr. Cheves, and Mr. Cal- 
houn, were, the leaders, who sustained and carried 
through the declaration of War. Mr. Clay, fully im- 
pressed with the conviction, lhat the honor and the 
highest interests of the country demanded the de- 
claration, was ardent, active and enthusiastic in its 
support. To him was assigned the responsible duty 
of appointing all the Committees. Mr. Madison's 
Cabinet was not unanimous on the subject of war. 



14 



Life of Henry Clay. 



Mr. Madison himself was in favor of it, but seemed 
to go into it with much repugnance and great appre- 
hension. The character of his mind was one of ex- 
treme caution, bordering on timidity, although he 
acted with vigor and firmness when his resolution 
was once taken. Mr. Gallatin, the. Secretary of the 
Treasury, was adverse to the war. 

It was the opinion and wish of Mr. Clay, Mr. 
Cheves, and their friends, that financial as well as 
military and naval preparations should he made for 
the conduct of the war, and previous to its declara- 
tion. Accordingly, Mr. Gallatin was cajled upon 
to report a system of finance appropriate to the oc- 
casion. He had enjoyed a high reputation for finan- 
cial ability; and it was hoped and anticipated, that 
he would display it when he made his required re- 
port. But the disappointment was great when his 
report appeared. Instead of indicating any new 
source of revenue — instead of suggesting any great 
plan calling forth the resources of the nation, he re- 
ported in favor of all the old odious taxes — excise, 
stamp duties, &c. which had been laid during pre- 
vious administrations. It was believed, from the of- 
fensive nature of the taxes, that his object was to re- 
press the war spirit. But far from being discouraged, 
Mr. Clay and his friends resolved to impose the du- 
ties recommended. 

Mr. Cheves was at the head of the Committee of 
Ways and Means, and went laboriously to work to 
prepare numerous bills for the collection of taxes as 
suggested by the Secretary. After they were pre- 
pared and reported, it was for the first time discov- 
ered that the Executive, and more especially Mr. 
Gallatin, were opposed to the imposition of taxes at 
the same session during which war was declared. 
This was ascertained by the active exertions of Mr. 
Smiley, a leading and influential member from Penn- 
sylvania, and the confidential friend of Mr. Gallatin. 
In circles of the members, he would urge in conver- 
sation the expediency of postponing the taxes to 
another session, saying that the people would not 
take both war and taxes together." 

Mr. Clay and his friends were aware that the levy- 
ing of taxes, alwavs a difficult and up-hill business, 
could not be effected without the hearty concur- 
rence of the Executive, and therefore reluctantly 
submitted to the postponement — a most unfortunate 
delay, the ill effects of which were felt throughout 
the whole war. Mr. Cheves, who had plied the la- 
boring oar, in preparing the various revenue bills, 
was highly indignant, and especially at the conduct 
of Mr. Gallatin, of whom he e\er afterwards thougbt 
unfavorably. 

The negotiations with Mr. Foster, the British 
Charge 6" Affaires at Washington, were protracted 
up to the period of the Declaration of War. The Re- 
publican party became impatient of the delay. It 
was determined that an informal deputation should 
wait upon Mr. Madison to expostulate against long- 
er procrastination ; and it was agreed that Mr. Clay 
should be the spokesman. The gentlemen of the 
deputation accordingly called on the President, and 
Mr. (/lay stated to him, that Congress was impa- 
tient for action; that further efforts at negotiation 
were vain; that an accommodation was impractica- 
ble; that the haughty spirit of Britain was unbend- 
ing and unyielding ; that submission to her arro- 
gant pretensions, especially that of a right to im- 



press our seamen, was impossible; that enough had 
been done by us with a view to conciliation ; that 
the time for decisive action had arrived, and war 
was inevitable. 

By way of illustrating the difference between 
speaking and writing, and acting, Mr. Clay related 
to Mr. Madison an anecdote of two Kentucky Judges. 
One talked incessantly from the Bench. He rea- 
soned every body to death. He would deliver an 
opinion, and fust try to convince the party that agreed 
with him and then the opposite party. The conse- 
quence was that business lagged, the docket accu- 
mulated, litigants complained, and the community 
were dissatisfied. He was succeeded by a Judge, 
who never gave any reasons for his opinion, but de- 
cided the case simply, for the plaintiff or the de- 
fendant. His decisions were rarely reversed by the 
appellate Court — the docket melted away — litigants 
were no longer exposed to ruinous delay — and the 
community were contented. Surely, said Mr. Clay, 
we have exhausted the argument with Great Britain. 

Mr. Madison enjoyed the joke, but, in his good- 
natuied, sly way, said, he also had heard an anec- 
dote, of a French Judge, who after the argument of 
the cause was over, put the papers of the contend- 
ing parties into opposite scales, and decided accor- 
ding to the preponderance of weight. 

Speaking of the opposition of the Federal party 
Mr. Clay remarked, that they were neither to be 
conciliated nor silenced — "let us do what we sin- 
'cerely believe to he right, and trust to God and the 
goodness of our cause." 

Mr. Madison said, that our institutions were found- 
ed upon the principle of the competency of man for 
self-government, and that we should never be tired 
of appealing to the reason and judgment of the peo- 
ple. 

Such deference did Mr. Madison have, however, 
for the opinion and advice of his friends, that shortly 
after this conference, he transmitted his war mes- 
sage to Congress. 

The second session of the twelfth Congress took 
place at the appointed time. Events of an impor- 
tant character had occurred since it last met. The 
war had been prosecuted ; and we had sustained 
some reverses. General Hull, to whom had been 
assigned the defence of the Michigan frontier, had, 
after an unsuccessful incursion into the nejgliboiing 
territory of the enemy, surrendered ingloriously the 
town and fort of Detroit. 

An attack was made on a post of the enemy near 
Niagara, by a detachment of regular and other foices 
under Major-General Van Rensselaer, and after dis- 
playing much gallantry had been compelled to yield, 
with considerable loss, to reinforcements of Savages 
and British regulars. 

But though partially unsuccessful on the land, the 
Americans had won imperishable trophies on the 
sea. Our public ships and private cruisers had 
made the enemy sensible of the difference between 
a reciprocity of captures, and the long confinement 
of them to their side. The frigate Constitution, com- 
manded by Captain Hull, after a close and short en- 
gagement, had completely disabled the British fri- 
gate Guerriere. A vast amount of property had 
been saved to the country by the course pursued by 
a squadron of our frigates under the command oj 
Commodore Rodgers. 



Defence of the War. 



15 



A strong deposit on to adjust existing d.fficulties 
with Great Britain had, in the mean time, been mani- 
fested by our Government, Our Charge des Af- 
faires at Loudon had been authorized to accede to 
certain terms, by which the war might be arrested, 
without awaiting the delays of a formal and final 
pacification. 

These terms required substantially, that the Bri- 
tish orders in council should be repealed as they af- 
fected the United States, without a revival of block- 
ades violating acknowledged rules; ihat there should 
be an immediate discharge of American seamen from 
British ships. On such terms an armistice was pro- 
posed by our Government. 

These advances were declined by Great Britain 
from an avowed repugnance to a suspension of the 
practice of impressment during the armistice. 

Early in January, 1813, a bill from the Military 
Committee of the House, for the raising of an addi- 
tional force, not exceeding twenty thousand men, un- 
derwent a long and animated discussion in commit- 
tee of the whole. The opposition on this occasion 
rallied all their strei gth to denounce the measure. 
JMr. Quiucy, to whom we have before alluded, made 
a most bitter harangue against it and its supporters. 
"Since the invasion of the buccaneers," said Mr. 
Q. "there is nothing in history like this war." Al- 
luding to some of the friends of the administration, 
he stigmatized them as "household troops, who 
lounged for what they could pick up about the gov- 
ernment house — to id-eaters, who lived on eleemo- 
synary, ill-purchased courtesy, upon the palace, 
who swallowed great men's spittle, got judgeships, 
and wondered at the. fine sights, fine rooms, and fine 
Company, and, most of all, wondered how they them- 
selves got there." 

Napoleon Bonaparte and Thomas Jefferson came 
in lor no small share of the same gentleman's abuse. 
On the eighth of January, Mr. Clay rose in de- 
fence of the new army bill, and in reply to the vio- 
lent nnd personal remarks, which had fallen from 
the opposition. His effort on this occasion was one 
of the most brilliant in his whole career. It is im- 
perfectly reported; for Mr. Clay has been al wins 
too inattentive to the preparation of his speeches fur 
the press. To form an adequate idea of his eloquence 
we must look to the eflbct it produced — to the legis- 
lation which it swayed. 

That portion of Mr. Clay's speech, in which he 
vindicated his illustrious friend, Thomas Jefferson, 
from the aspersions of the leader of the Federalists, 
has been deservedly admired as a specimen of ener- 
getic and indignant eloquence. It must have fallen 
with crushing effect upon him who called it forth : 

" Next to the notice which the opposition has 
found itself called U(><>n to bestow upon the French 
Emperor, a distinguished citizen of Virginia, former- 
y President of the United States, has never for a 
moment failed to receive their kindest and most 
respectful attention. An honorable gentleman from 
Massachusetts (of whom I am sorry to say it be- 
comes necessary for me, in the course of my remarks, 
to take some notice,) has alluded to him it) a re- 
markable m inner. Neither his retirement from pub- 
lic office, his eminent services, nor his advanced age, 
can exempt this patriot from the coarse assault- of 
party malevolence. N>, sir; in 1801 he snatched 
from the rude hands of usurpation the violated con- 
stitution of the country, nnd that is his crime. He 
preserved that instrument in form and substance and 



spirit, a precious inheritance for generations to come, 
and for this he can never he forgiven. 

"How vain and impotent is party rage, directed 
against such a man! He is not more elevated by his 
lofty residence upon the summit of bis own favorite 
mountain, than he is lifted by ihe serenity of his mind, 
and the consciousnesss of a well-spent life, above 
the indignant passions anil feelings of the day. No! 
his own beloved Monticello is not less moved by 
the storms that beat against its sides, than is this 
illustrious man by the bowlings of the whole British 
pack let loose from the Essex kennel ! 

" When the gentleman, to whom I have been com- 
pelled to allude, shall have mingled his du.-i with 
that of his abused ancestors — when he shall have 
been consigned to oblivion, or, if he live at all, shall 
live only in the treasonable annals of a certain jun- 
to, the name of Jefferson will be hailed with grati- 
tude, his memory honored and cherished as the se- 
cond founder of the liberties of the people, and the 
period of his administration will be looked buck to 
as one of the happiest and brightest epochs in Amer- 
ican history. 

" But I beg the gentleman's pardon. He has in- 
deed secured to himself a more imperishable fame 
than I had supposed. I think it was about four \ ears 
ago that he submitted to the House of Representa- 
tives, an initiative proposition tor an impeachment 
of Mr. Jefferson. The House condescended to con- 
sider it. The gentleman debated it with his usual 
temper, moderation and urbanity. The House de- 
cided upon it in the most solemn manner; and, al- 
though the gentleman had somehow obtained a se- 
cond, the final vole stood, one fur, and one hundred 
aud seventeen against the proposition ! Tlie same 
historic page that transmitted to posterity the virtue 
and glory of Henry the Great of France, for their 
admiration and example, has preserver! the infamous 
name of ihe fanatic assassmof ihe excellent monarch. 
The same sacred pen that portrayed the sufferings 
and crucifixion of the Saviour of mankind, has re- 
corded lor universal execration the name of him who 
was guilty — not of betraying his country — but — a 
kindred crime — of betraying his God I"* 

In other parts of his speech, Mr. Clay electrified 
the House by his impassioned eloquence. The day 
was intensely cold, and, for the only time in his life, 
he found it difficult to keep himself warm by ihe ex- 
ercise of speaking. But the members crowded 
around him in hushed admiration ; and there were 
few among them who did not testify by their str. am- 
ing tears his mastery over the passions. The sub- 
ject of impressment was touched upon; and the 
matchless pathos with which he depicted the conse- 
quences of that infernal system— portraving tho 
situation of a supposed victim to its tyrannic outra- 
ges — thrilled through every heart. The reported 
passage can but feebly convey a conception of the 
impression produced. As well might we attempt to 
form an adequate idea of one of Raphael's pictues 
from a written description, as to transcribe the elo- 
quence of Clay on this occasion. Even were his 
glowing words fully and correctly given, how much 
of the effect would be lost in the absence of that 
sweet and silvery voice — that graceful and expres- 
sive action — those flashing eyes — which gave life 
and potency and victory to his languaage! 

In conclusion, Mr. Clay said : — " My plan would 
' be to call out the ample resources of the country, 
' give them a judicious direction, prosecute the war 
' with the utmost vigor, strike wherever we can reach 
' the enemy, at sea or on land, and negotiate the 

* When the proposition was made to impeach Thomas JefFer- 
enn, Mr. Clay is s id so have risen, a>id exclaimed in referencs 
to the mover, " Sir, the centleman soils the spot he stands upon." 



16 



Life of Henry Clay. 



' terms of a peace at Quebec or at Halifax. We are 
' told that England is a proud and lofty nation, 
' which, disdaining to wait for danger, meets it half 
' way. Haughty as she is, we once triumphed over 
' her, and, if we do not listen to the counsels of timi- 
' dity and despair, we shall again prevail. In such 
• a cause, with the aid of Providence, we must come 
'out crowned with success; but if we fail, let us 
' fail like men — lash ourselves to our gallant tars, 
' and expire together in one common struggle — 
'fighting for free trade and seamen's 
'Rights! " 

The Army Bill, thus advocated by Mr. Clay, 
passed the House on the 14th of January, 1813, by 
a vote of seventy-seven to forty-two. 

On the tenth of February, the President of the 
Senate, in the presence of both Houses of Congress, 
proceeded to open the certificates of the Electors of 
the several States for President and Vice President 
of the United States. The vote stood : For Presi- 
dent, James Madison, 12S: De Witt Clinton, 89. — 
For Vice Preside/it, Elbridge Gerry, 131 ; Jared 
Ingersoll, 86. James Madison and Elbridge Gerry 
were accordingly elected — the former for a second 
term. The War Policy of the Administration was 
triumphantly sustained by the People. 

The first session of the Thirteenth Congress com- 
menced the twenty-fourth of May, 1813. Mr. Clay 
was again chosen Speaker by a large majority, and 
his voice of exhortation and encouragement con- 
tinued to be raised in Committee of the Whole in 
vindication ofnhe honor of the Country and the con- 
duct of the War. The President, in his Message, 
alluded to the spirit in which the war had been 
waged by the British, who " were adding to the 
' savage fury of it on one frontier, a system of plun- 
' der and conflagration on the other, equally forbid 
'den by respect for national character and by the 
'established rules of civilized warfare." 

Mr. Clay eloquently called attention to this por- 
tion of the Message, and declared that if the out- 
rages said to have been committed by the British 
armies and their savage allies should be found to be 
as public report had stated them, they called for the 
indignation of all Christendom, and ought to be em- 
bodied in an authentic document, which might per- 
petuate them on the page of history. Upon his mo- 
tion, a resolution was adopted, referring this portion 
of the President's Message to a Select Committee, 
of which Mr. Macon was Chairman. A Report was 
subsequently submitted from this Committee, in 
which an abundance of testimony was brought for- 
ward, showing that the most inhuman outrages had 
been repeatedly perpetrated upon American prison- 
ers by the Indian allies of British troops, and often 
under the eye of British officers. The report closed 
with a resolution requesting the President to lay 
before the House, during the progress of the war, 
nil the instances of departure, by the British, from 
the ordinary mode of conducting war among civil- 
ized nations. 

The new Congress had commenced its session at 
a period of general exultation among all patriotic 
Americans. Several honorable victories by sea and 
land had shed lustre on our annals. Captain Law- 
rence, of the Hornet, with but eighteen guns, had 
captured, after a brisk and gallant action of fifteen 
minutes, the British sloop of war Peacock, Captain 



Peake, carrying twenty-two guns and one hundred 
and thirty men— the latter losing her Captain and 
nine men with thirty wounded, while our loss was 
but one killed and two wounded. York, the capital 
of Upper Canada, had been captured by the army of 
the centre, in connection with a naval force on Lake 
Ontario, under Gen. Dearborn ; while the issue of 
the siege of Fort Meigs, under Gen. Harrison, had 
won for that officer an imperishable renown as a 
brave and skilful soldier. 

In September of the preceding year, the Emperor 
Alexander of Russia had intimated to Mr. Adams, 
our Minister at St. Petersburgh, his intention of 
tendering his services as Mediator between the Uni- 
ted States and Great Britain. The proposition had 
been favorably received, and assurances had been 
given to the Emperor of the earnest desire of our 
Government that the interest of Russia might remain 
entirely unaffected by the existing war between us 
and England, and that no more intimate connections 
with France would be formed by the United States. 
With these assurances the Emperor had been highly 
gratified; and in the early part of March, 1813, the 
Russian Minister at Washington, M. Daschkoff, had 
formally proffered the mediation of his Government, 
which was readily accepted by the President. It 
was rejected, however, by the British Government, 
to the great surprise of our own, on the ground that 
their commercial and maritime rights would not 
thereby be as effectually secured as they deemed 
necessary; but, accompanying the rejection, was an 
expression of willingness to treat directly with the 
United States, either at Gottenburg or at London ; 
and the interposition of the Emperor was requested 
in favor of such an arrangement. 

In conseqnenr.e of the friendly offer of the Rus- 
sian Government, Messrs. Albert Gallatin and 
James A. Bayard had been sent to join our resident 
Minister, Mr. Adams, as Envoys Extraordinary at 
St. Petersburgh. The proposal of the British 
Ministry, to treat with us at Gottenburg, was soon 
after accepted, and Messrs. Clay and Jonathan 
Russell were appointed, in conjunction with the 
three Plenipotentiaries then in Russia, to conduct 
the negotiations. On the 19th of January, 1814, 
Mr. Clay, in an appropriate Address, accordingly 
resigned his station as Speaker of the House. The 
same day a Resolution was passed by that body, 
thanking him for the ability and impartiality with 
which he had presided. The Resolution was 
adopted almost unanimously — only nine Members 
voting in opposition. 

Mr. Clay had always asserted that an honorable 
Peace was attainable only by an efficient War. In 
Congress he had been the originator and most ar- 
dent supporter of nearly all those measures which 
had for their object the vigorous prosecution of 
hostilities against Great Britain. On every occa- 
sion his trumpet-voice was heard, cheering on the 
House and the Country to confidence and victory. 
No auguries of evil — no croakings of despondency — 
no suggestions of timidity — no violence of Federal 
opposition could for a moment shake his patriotic 
purposes, diminish his reliance on the justice of our 
cause, or induce him to hesitate in that policy, which 
be believed the honor and — what was inseparable 
from the honor — the interests, of the Country de- 
manded. 



Negotiation at Ghent. 



17 



The measure of gratitude due him from his fel- 
low citizens, for his exeitions in this cause alone, is 
not to be calculated or paid. But in that scroll 
where Freedom inscribes the names of her worthiest 
champions, destined to an immortal renown in her 
annals, the name of Henry Clay will be found 
with those of Washington, Jefferson and 
Madison. 

Having been the most efficient leader in directing 
the legislative action which originated and directed 
to a prosperous termination the War with Great 
Britain — a War which the voice of an impartial 
Posterity must admit to have elevated and strength- 
ened us as a Nation— Mr. Clay was now appro- 
priately selected as one of the Commissioners to 
arrange a Treaty of Peace. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Meeting of the Ghent Commissioners— Mr. Clay visits Brus- 
sels—Anecdote — Mode of transacting Business— Untoward 
Event— Mr. Clay refuses to surrender to the British the Right 
V> Navigate the Mississippi— His Reasons— Controversy be- 
tween Messrs. Adams and Russell— Mr. Clay's Letter— Goes 
to Paris— Is introduced to the Duke of Wellington by Madame 
de Stael— Hears of the Battle of New-Orleans— Visits Eng- 
land—Lord Castlereagh and his First Waiter— Waterloo and 
Napoleon— Mr. Clay's Reception in England— Declines going 
to Court— Sir James Mackintosh— Lord Gambier, &c— Mr. 
Clay's Return to New-York— Reception— Re-elected to Con- 
gress—Vindication of the War— Internal Improvements— His 
Country, his whole Country. 

The Commissioners met first at Gottingen, but 
their meetings were afterward transferred to Ghent. 
The conferences occupied a space of time of about 
five months. The American Commissioners were 
in reality negotiating with the whole British Min- 
istry; for, whenever they addressed a Diplomatic 
note of any importance to the British Commis- 
sioners, it was by them transmitted to London, from 
which place the substance of an answer was re- 
turned in the form of instructions. The conse- 
quence was, that the American Commissioners, 
after having delivered a Diplomatic note, had to 
wait about a week before they received a reply. 

In one of these pauses of the negotiation, Mr. 
Clay made a little excursion to Brussels, and Mr. 
Goulbourne went there at the same time. The Brit- 
ish Commissioners had been in the habit of sending 
their English newspapers to the American Commis- 
sioners, through which the latter often derived the 
first intelligence of events occurring in America. 

The morning after Mr. Clay's arrival in Brussels, 
upon his coming down to breakfast, his servant, 
Frederick Cara, whom he had taken with him from 
the City of Washington, threw some papers upon 
the. breakfast table, and burst into tears. " What's 
the matter, Frederick?" The British have taken 
Washington, Sir, and Mr. Goulbourne has sent you 
those papers, which contain the account." "Is it 
possible?" exclaimed Mr. Clay. "It is too true, 
Sir" returned Frederick, whining piteously. 

The news was by no means agreeable to Mr. Clay; 
nor was his concern diminished when he thought of 
the channel through which it had been conveyed to 
him, although fully persuaded that Mr. Goulbourne 
had not been actuated by any uncourteous spirit of 
exultation. Mr. Clay nevertheless resolved to avail 
himself of the first favorable opportunity for friendly 
retaliation ; and one fortunately soon occurred. A 
point in the negotiation, which had been very much 



pressed, was pacification with the Indians, which the 
American Commissioners assured the British would 
necessarily follow pacification with Great Britain. 
The former received some recent American news- 
papers containing an account of the actual conclu- 
sion of peace with some of the Indian tribes, but 
containing also an account of one of the splendid 
naval victories won on Lake Champlain or Lake 
Erie. Mr. Clay proposed to the American Com- 
missioners, that these newspapers should be sent to 
the British, ostensibly for the purpose of showing 
that peace was made with some of the Indians, but 
in reality to afford them an opportunity of perusing 
the account of that victory. With the concurrence 
of his colleagues, he accordingly addressed an offi- 
cial note to the British Commissioners transmitting 
the newspapers. 

The mode of transacting business among the 
American Commissioners was, upon the reception 
of an official note from the other party to deliberate 
fully upon its contents, and to discuss them at a 
board. After that, the paper was placed in the 
hands of one of the Commissioners to prepare on 
answer. Upon the preparation of that answer, it 
was carefully examined and considered by the board, 
every member of which took it to his lodgings to 
suggest in pencil such alterations as appeared to 
him proper; and these were again considered and 
finally adopted or rejected, and the paper handed to 
the Secretary to be be copied and recorded. 

In the composition of the official notes sent by the 
American to the British Commissioners, the pen of 
Mr. Gallatin was, perhaps, most frequently em- 
ployed; then that of Mr. Adams; then that of Mr. 
Clay. Messrs. Bayard and Russell wrote the least. 

During the progress of the negotiation and at a 
very critical period of it, the official dispatches of 
the American Commissioners, giving a full account 
of the prospects of the negociation, and expressing 
very little hope of its successful termination, having 
been published by the order of the American Go- 
vernment, came back to the Commissioners aft Ghent 
in the newspapers. They arrived in the evening, 
just as the American Commissioners were dressed 
to go to a ball given to the Commissioners by the 
authorities of Ghent. The unexpected publication 
of these dispatches excited the surprise and regret 
of the American Commissioners. Some of them 
thought that a rupture of die negotiation would be 
the consequence. Mr. Clay, on account of his open 
and frank manner, was on terms of more unreserved 
and free intercourse with the British Commission- 
ers than any of his colleagues, and he resolved that 
evening to sound the former as to the effect of this 
publication of the dispatches. He accordingly ad- 
dressed himself to the three Commissioners sever- 
ally in succession at the ball, beginning with Lord 
Gambier, who was the most distinguished for ame- 
nity and benevolence of character, and saying: 
" You perceive, my Lord, that our Government has 
published our dispatches, and that now the whole 
world knows what we are doing here." " Yes," re- 
plied his Lordship, " I have seen it with infinite sur- 
prise, and the proceeding is without example in the 
civilized world." To which Mr. Clay mildly re- 
joined : " Why, my Lord, you must recollect that, 
at the time of the publication of those di-patches, 
our Government had every reason to suppose, froca 



18 



Life of Henry Clay. 



the nature of the pretensions and demands, which 
yours brought forward, that our negotiation would 
not terminate successfully, and that the publication 
•would not find us here together. I am quite sure, 
that if our Government had anticipated the present 
favorable aspect of our deliberations, the publica- 
tion of the dispatches would not have been ordered. 
Then, your Lordship must also recollect, that if, as 
you truly asserted, the publication of dispatches 
pending a negotiation is not according to the cus- 
tom of European diplomacy, our Government itself 
is organized upon principles totally different from 
those on which European Governments are consti- 
tuted. With us, the business in which we were here 
engaged, is the people's business. We are their 
servants, and they have a right to know how their 
business is going on. The publication, therefore, 
was to give the people information of what intimate- 
ly affected them." 

Lord Gambier did not appear to be satisfied with 
this explanation, although he was silenced by it. 
Mr. Clay had a similar interview with the. two other 
British Commissioners ; and their feelings, in con- 
sequence of the publication, were marked by the 
degree of excitability of their respective characters. 
But the fears which were entertained by some of 
the American Commissioners were not realized. 
The publication was never spoken of in conference, 
. and the negotiation proceeded to a successful issue 
as if it had not happened. 

Between the American Commissioners, in the con- 
duct of the negotiation at Ghent, no serious difficul- 
ty arose, except on one point, and that related to the 
subject of the Fisheries and navigation of the Mis- 
sissippi. By the third article of the definitive Treaty 
of peace with Great Britain concluded in Septem- 
ber, 1783, certain rights of fishing, and of drying and 
curing fish within the limits of British jurisdiction, 
and upon British soil, were secured to the citizens 
of the United States. And by the eighth article of 
the same Treaty, it was stipulated that the right to 
the navigation of the River Mississippi, from its 
source to the Ocean, should remain for ever free and 
open to the subjects of Great Britain and the citi- 
zens of the United States. The same mutual right 
of navigation was recognized by Mr. Jay's treaty of 
1794. 

When the American Commissioners were in con- 
sultation as to the project of a treaty to be presented 
to the consideration of the British Commissioners, 
it was proposed that an article should be inserted 
renewing those rights of taking and curing and dry- 
ing fish, and of the navigation of the Mississippi. 
To such a proposal, Mr. Clay was decidedly op- 
posed, and Mr. Russell concurred with him. The 
other three Commissioners were for making the pro 
posal. The argument on that question was long, 
earnest and ardent. Mr. Clay contended, that the 
right of catching fish in the open seas and bays, be- 
ing incontestible, the privilege of taking them and 
curing and drying them within the exclusive juris- 
diction of Great Britain was of little or no impor- 
tance, especially as it was limited to the time that 
the British Territory should remain unsettled. With 
respect to the navigation of the Mississippi, he con- 
tended, that at the dates both of the definitive Treaty 
of peace of 1783, and of Mr. Jay's Treaty of 1794, 
Spain owned the whole of the right bank of the 



Mississippi, in all its extent, and both banks of i! 
from the Mexican Gulf up to the boundary of the 
United States. That at both those periods, it was 
supposed that the British Dominions touched on the 
Upper Mississippi, but it was now known that they 
did not border at all on that river. That now the 
whole Mississippi, from its uppermost source to the 
gulf, was incontestibly within the limits of the 
United States. He could not, therefore, conceive 
the propriety of stipulating with Great Britain for a 
mutual right to the navigation of that river. It was 
the largest river in the United States; so large as to 
have acquired the denomination of the Father of 
rivers. Why select it from among all the rivers of 
the United States, and subject it to a foreign vassal- 
age"? Why do that in respect to the Mississippi 
which would not be tolerated as respects the North 
River, the James, or the Potomac ? What would 
Great Britain herself think if a proposal were made 
that the citizens of the United States and the sub- 
jects of Great Britain should have a mutual right 
to navigate the Thames ? To make the proposed 
concession, Was to admit of a British partnership 
with the United States in the sovereignty of the 
Mississippi, so far as its navigation was concerned. 
Then there might be a doubt and a dispute whether 
the concession did not comprehend the tributaries 
as well as the principal stream. If the grant of the 
right to navigate the Mississippi was to be regarded 
as an equivalent for the concession of the fishing 
privileges, Mr. Clay denied that there was any af- 
finity between the two subjects. They were as dis- 
tant in their nature as they were remote from each 
other in their localities. 

On the other side, it was contended that it would 
occasion regret and dissatisfaction in the United 
States, if any of the fishing privileges, or other pri- 
vileges, which had been enjoyed before the break- 
ing out of the War, should not be secured by 
the treaty of peace. That those fishing privileges 
were very important and dear to a section of the 
Union, which had been adverse to the war. That 
the British right to the navigation of the Mississippi 
was a merely nominal concession, which would not 
result in any practical injury to the United States. 
That foreigners now enjoyed the right to navigate 
all the rivers up to the ports of entry established 
upon them, without any prejudice to our interests. 
That Great Britain had been entitled to this right of 
navigating the Mississippi from the period of the 
acquisition of Louisiana to the Declaration of War 
in 1812, without any mischief or inconvenience to 
the United States. 

To all this, Mr. Clay replied that if we lost tho 
fishing privileges within the exclusive jtirisdiction, 
we gained the total exemption of the Mississippi 
from this foreign participation with us in the right 
to its navigation. That the uncertainty as to the 
extent of privileges which the British right to navi- 
gate the Mississippi comprised, far from recommend- 
ing the concession to him, formed an additional ob- 
jection to it. That the period of about eight years 
between the acquisition of Louisiana and the Decla- 
ration of War, was too short for tis to ascertain by 
experience what practical use Great Britain was 
capable of making of that right of navigation, which 
might be injurious to us. We knew that a great 
many of the Indian Tribes were situated upon th« 



Proceedings at Ghent— Mr. Clay at Paris. 



19 



sources of the Mississippi. The British right to na- 
vigate that river might bring her in direct contact 
with them, and we had sufficient experience of the 
pernicious use she might make of' those Indians. — 
He was as anxious as any of his colleagues to se- 
cure all the rights of fishing, and curing and drying 
fish, which had hitherto been enjoyed; but he could 
not consent to purchase of temporary and uncertain 
privileges within the British limits, at the expense of 
putting a foreign and degrading mark upon the no- 
blest of all our rivers. 

After the argument, which was extended to seve- 
ral sessions of the consultation meetings of the 
American Commissioners, was exhausted, it ap- 
peared that the same three Commissioners were in- 
clined to make the proposal. In that stage of the 
proceeding, Mr. Clay said, he felt it due to his col- 
leagues to state to them that he would affix Ms sig- 
nature to no Treaty which should make to Great 
Britain the contemplated concession. After the an- 
nouncement of this determination, Mr. Bayard uni- 
ted with Messrs. Clay and Russell, and then formed 
a majority against tendering the proposal— and it 
was not made. 

But, at a subsequent period of the negotiation, 
when the British Commissioners made their propo- 
sitions for a Treaty, one of the propositions was to 
renew the British right to navigate the Mississippi 
simply, without including the fishing privileges in 
question. On examining this proposal, the Ameri- 
can Commissioners considered, first, whether they 
should accept the proposal with or without condi- 
tions. All united in agreeing that it ought not to 
be unconditionally accepted. But the same three 
Commissioners who had been originally in favor of 
an article which should include both the Mississippi 
and the fishing privileges within the British limits, 
appeared to be now in favor of accepting the British 
proposal, upon the condition that it should compre- 
hend those fishing privileges. Mr. Clay did not re- 
new the expression of his determination to sign no 
Treaty which should concede to the British the right 
to the navigation of the Mississippi, although he re- 
mained fixed in that purpose; for he apprehended 
that a repetition of the expression of his determina- 
tion might be misconceived by his colleagues. 

It was accordingly proposed to the British Com- 
missioners to accept their proposal with the condi- 
tion just stated. In a subsequent conference be- 
tween the two commissions, the British declined ac- 
cepting the proposed conditions, and it was mutually 
agreed to leave both subjects out of the Treaty. And 
thus, as Mr. Clay wished from the first, the Missis- 
sippi River became liberated from all British preten- 
sions of a right to navigate it from the Ocean to its 
eource. 

A controversy having arisen between Messrs. 
Adams and Russell, about the year 1S23, in respect 
to some points in the negotiations at Ghent, an em- 
bittered correspondence took place between those 
two gentlemen. In the course of it, Mr. Clay 
thought that Mr. Adams had unintentionally fallen 
into some errors, which Mr. Clay, in a note ad- 
dressed to the public, stated he would at some fu- 
ture day correct. About the year 1823 or 1829, Mr. 
Russell, without the previous consent of Mr. Clay, 
published a confidential letter addressed by Mr. 
Clay to him, in which Mr. C. expresses his condem- 



nation of Mr. Russell's course in the alteration of 
some of his letters, which had been charged and 
proved upon him by Mr. Adams. In that same let- 
ter, Mr. Clay gives his explanation of some of the 
transactions at Ghent, respecting which he thought 
Mr. Adams was mistaken. The publication of the 
confidential letter superseded the necessity of mak- 
ing the corrections which Mr. C. had intended. In 
this letter, Mr. Clay in no instance impugns the mo- 
tives of Mr. Adams, nor does it contain a line from 
which an unfriendly state of feeling on the part of 
the writer toward Mr. Adams could be inferred. 

Such was Mr. Clay's pride of country that he had 
resolved not to go to England until he had heard of 
the ratification of the Treaty of Ghent. After the 
termination of the negotiations he went to Paris, and 
accepted the invitation of Mr. Crawford, our Minis- 
ter, to take apartments in his hotel. Mr. Clay re- 
mained in Paris during upward of two months. On 
the night of his arrival in that brilliant metropolis, 
he found at Mr. Crawford's an invitation to a ball 
given by the American banker, Mr. Hottinguvr, on 
the occasion of the pacification between the United 
States and Great Britain. There he met for the first 
time the celebrated Madame de Stael — was intro- 
duced to her, and had with her a long and animated 
conversation. 

" Ah ! " said she, " Mr. Clay, I have been in Eng- 
land, and have been battling your cause for you 
there." — " I know it, Madame ; we heard of your 
powerful interposition, and we are grateful and 
thankful for it." — " They were very much enraged 
against you," said she : " so much so, that they at 
one time thought seriously of sending the Duke 
of Wellington to command their Armies against 
you ! " — " I am very sorry, Madame," replied Mr. 
Clay, " that they did not send his Grace."—" Why ? " 
asked she, surprised. — " Because, Madame, if he had 
beaten us, we should only have been in the condition 
of Europe, without disgrace. But, if we had been 
so fortunate as to defeat him, we should have greatly 
added to the renown of our arms." 

The next time he met Madame de Stael was at a 
party at her own house, which was attended by the 
Marshals of France, the Duke of Wellington, and 
other distinguished persons. She introduced Mr. 
Clay to the Duke, and at the same time related the 
above anecdote. He replied, with promptness and 
politeness, that if he had been sent on that service, 
and had been so fortunate as to have been success- 
ful over a foe as gallant as the Americans, he would 
have regarded it as the proudest feather in his cap. 
During his stay in Paris, Mr. Clay heard of the 
issue of the Battle of New-Orleans. Now," said 
he to his informant, " I can go to England without 
mortification." But he expressed himself greatly 
mortified at the inglorious flight attributed, in the 
Dispatches of the American General, to a portion 
of the Kentucky Militia, which Mr. Clay pronouced 
must be a mistake. 

Having heard of the ratification of the Treaty of 
Ghent, Mr. Clay left Paris for England in March, 
1315, just before the arrival of Bonaparte in the 
French Capital. He thus missed the opportunity 
of seeing the Great Corsican. He would have re- 
mained in Paris for the purpose, had he supposed 
the Emperor would arrive so soon. It was about 
this time that Louis XVIII. left Paris, and took up 



20 



Life of Henry Clay. 



his residence in Ghent, near the Hotel which the 
American Commissioners had recently occupied. 

On his arrival in England, before any of the other 
American Commissioners, Mr. Clay had an inter- 
view with Lord Castlereagh, who contracted for 
him a high esteem, which was frequently mani- 
fested during his sojourn in England. Lord C. 
offered to present him to the Prince Regent. Mr. 
Clay said he would go through the ceremony, if it 
were deemed necessary or respectful. Lord Castle- 
reagh said that, having been recognized in his public 
character by the British Government, it was not 
necessary, and that he might omit it or not, as he 
pleased. Mr. Clay's repugnance to the parade of 
Courts prevented his presentation, and he never saw 
the Prince. He met, however, wiih most of the 
other members of the Royal Family. 

A few days after his interview with Lord Castle- 
reagh, the keeper of the house at which Mr. Clay 
lodged aanounced a person who wished to speak 
with him. Mr. Clay directed him to be admitted ; 
and, on his entrance, he perceived an individual, 
dressed apparently in great splendor, come forward, 
whom he took to be a Peer of the Realm. He rose 
and asked his visitor to be seated, but the latter 
declined, and observed that he was the First Waiter 
of my Lord Castlereagh ! " The First Waiter of 
my Lord Castlereagh ! " exclaimed Mr. Clay ; " well, 
what is your pleasure with me ? " — " Why, if your 
Excellency pleases," said the man, " it is usual for 
a Foreign Minister, when presented to Lord Castle- 
reagh, to make to his First VVaiter a present, or pay 
him the customary stipend ; " at the same time hand- 
ing to Mr. Clay a long list of names of Foreign Min- 
isters, with the sum which every one had paid affixed 
to his name. 

Mr. Clay, thinking it a vile extortion, took the 
paper, and, while reading it, thought how he should 
repel so exceptionable a demand. He returned it 
to the servant, telling him thut, as it was the custom 
of the couutry, he presumed it was all right ; but 
that he was not the Minister to England ; Mr. Adams 
was the Minister, and was daily expected from Paris, 
and, he had no doubt, would do whatever was right. 
" But," said the servant, very promptly, " if your 
' Excellency pleases, it makes no difference whether 
' the Minister presented be the Resident Minister or 
' a Special Minister, as I understand your Excel- 
' lency to be; — it is always paid." Mr. Clay, who 
had come to England to argue with the master, find- 
ing himself in danger of being beaten in argument 
by the man, concluded it was best to conform to the 
usage, objectionable as he thought it; and, looking 
over the paper for the smallest sum paid by any 
other Minister, handed the fellow five guineas and 
dismissed him. 

Mr. Clay was in London when the Battle of 
Waterloo was fought, and witnessed the illumi- 
nations, bonfires and rejoicings to which it gave 
rise. For a day or two, it was a matter of great 
uncertainty what had become of Napoleon. During 
this interval of anxious suspense, Mr. Clay dined at 
Lord Castlereagh's with the American Ministers, 
Messrs. Adams and Gallatin, and the British Minis- 
try. Bonaparte's flight and probable place of refuge 
became the topics of conversation. Among other 
conjectures, it was suggested that he might have 
gone to the United States ; and Lord Liverpool, ad- 



dressing Mr. Clay, asked : — "If he goes there, will 
he not give you a good deal of trouble?" — "Not 
the least, my Lord," replied Mr. Clay, with his 
habitual promptitude — " we shall be \ery glad to 
receive him; we would treat him with all hospi- 
tality, and very soon make of him a good Democrat." 

The reply produced a very hearty peal of laughter 
from the whole company, 

Mr. Clay was received in the British circles, both 
of the Ministry and the Opposition, with the most 
friendly consideration. The late Sir James Mack- 
intosh was one of his first acquaintances in Lou- 
don; — and of the lamented Sir Samuel Romilly and 
his beautiful and accomplished lady, Mr. Clay has 
been heard to remark, that they presented one of the 
most beautiful examples of a happy man and wife 
that he had ever seen. He passed a most agreeable 
week with his Ghent friend, Lord Gambier, at Iver 
Grove, near Windsor Castle. Of this pious and 
excellent nobleman, Mr. Clay has ever retained a 
lively and friendly recollection. He visited with 
him Windsor Castle, Frogmore Lodge, the residence 
of the descendant of William Peun, and saw the 
wife of George III. and some of the daughters. 

In September, 1815, Mr. Clay returned to his own 
country, arriving in New York, which port he had 
left in March, 1814. A Public Dinner was given to 
him and Mr. Gallatin, soon after their disem- 
barkation. Every where, on his route homeward 
to his adopted State, he was received with con- 
tinual demonstrations of public gratitude and ap- 
probation. In Kentucky he was hailed with every 
token of affection and respect. The Board of Trus- 
tees of Lexington waited upon him and presented their 
thanks for his eminent services in behalf of his 
country. 

On the seventh of October, the citizens of the same 
town gave him a public dinner. In reply to a toast 
complimentary to the American negotiators, he 
made some brief and eloquent remarks concerning 
the circumstances under which the Treaty had been 
concluded, and the general condition of the country, 
both at the commencement and the close of the war. 
At the same festival, in reply to a toast highly com- 
plimentary to himself, he thanked the company for 
their kind and affectionate attention. His reception, 
he said, had been more like that of a brother than a 
common friend or acquaintance, and lie was utterly 
incapable of finding words to express his gratitude. 
He compared his situation to that of a Swedish gen- 
tleman, at a festival in England, given by the Soci 
ety for the Relief of Foreigners in Distress. A toast 
having been given, complimentary to his country, it 
was expected that he should address the company 
in reply. Not understanding the English language, 
he was greatly embarrassed, and said to the Chair- 
man : " Sir, I wish you, and this Society, to con- 
' sider me a Foreigner in Distress." " So," said 
Mr. Clay, evidently much affected, " I wish you to 
' consider me a friend in distress." 

In anticipation of his return home, Mr. Clay had 
been unanimously re-elected a Member of Congress 
from the District he formerly represented. Doubts 
arising as to the legality of this election, a new one 
was ordered, and the result was the same. 

On the fourth of December, 1815, the Fourteenth 
Congress met, in its first session. Mr. Clay wag 
again elected Speaker of the House of Representa- 



Discussion of the Treaty — Re.charter of the U. S. Bank. 



21 



tives, almost unanimously — receiving, upon the first 
balloting, eighty-seven out of one hundred and twen- 
ty-two votes cast — thirteen being the highest num- 
ber given for any one of the five opposing candi- 
dates. He was, at this time, just recovering from a 
serious indisposition, but accepted the office in a 
brief and appropriate speech, acknowledging the 
honor conferred upon him, and pledging his best ef- 
forts for the proper discharge of its duties. 

Among the important subjects which came up, 
that of the new Treaty was, of course, among the 
foremost. John Randolph and the Federalists, after 
having resisted the War, now took frequent occasion 
to sneer at the mode of its termination. On the 29th 
of January, 1816, Mr. Clay addressed the Commit- 
tee of the House most eloquently in reply to these 
cavilers. 

" I gave a vote," said he, " for the Declaration of 
' War. I exerted all the, little influence and talents 
' I could command to make the War. The War 
' was made. It is terminated. And I declare with 
' perfect sincerity, if it had been permitted to me to 
' lift the veil of futurity, and to have foreseen the 
' precise scries of events which has occurred, my 
1 vote would have been unchanged. We had been 
* insulted, and outraged, and spoliated upon by al- 
' mo<t nil Europe — by Great Britain, by France, 
' Spain, Denmark, Naples, and, to cap the climax, 
'by the little contemptible power of Algiers. We 
' had submitted too long and too much. We had 
' becom.; the scorn of foreign powers, and the deri- 
' sion of our own citizens." 

It had been objected by the Opposition that no 
provision had been made in the Treaty in regard to 
the impressment of our seamen by the British. On 
this subject, Mr. Clay said — and his argument is as 
conclusive as it is lofty : — " One of the great causes 
4 of the War and of its continuance was the practice 
' of impressment exercised by Great Britain — and 
' if this claim had been admitted by necessary impli- 
' cation or express stipulation, the rights of our sea- 
' tnen would have been abandoned ! It is with utter 
' astonishment that I hear it has been contended in 
' this country that, because our right of exemption 
' from the practice had not been expressly secured 
' in the Treaty, it was, therefore, given up! It is 
' impossible that such an argument can be advanced 
' on this floor. No Member, who regarded his repu- 
' tation, would venture to advance such a doctrine !" 

In conclusion, Mr. Clay declared, on this occasion 
that his policy, in regard to the attitude in which the 
country should now be placed, was to preserve the 
present force, naval and military — to provide for the 
augmentation of the Navy — to fortify the weak and 
vulnerable points indicated by experience — to con- 
struct Military roads and canals — and, in short, " to 

COMMERCE THE GREAT WORK OF InTNRNAL IM- 
PROVEMENT." 

" I wxnild see," he said, " a chain of turnpike 
roads and canals from Passamaquoddy to New-Or- 
leans; and other similar roads intersecting moun- 
tains, to facilitate intercourse betireen all parts of 
the country, and to bind and conwet us togethrr. I 

WOULD ALSO EFFECTUALLY PkOTECT OUR >IAIt(7- 

FACTORies. I would "fiord them protection, not so 
much for the sake of the Manufacturers themselves 
as tor the general interest." 

It was in this patriotic spirit, and impelled by this 
far-sighted, liberal, and truly American policy, that 



Mr. Clay resumed his legislative labors in the Nation- 
al Councils. He has lived to carry out those truly 
great and Statesman-like measures of Protection and 
Internal Improvement, which even then began to 
gather shape and power in a mind ever active in the 
cause of his country. May he live to receive a tes- 
timonial of that country's gratitude and admiration 
in the bestowal upon him of the highest honor in her 
gift! 

CHAPTER V. 

Re-charter of the United States Bank— Mr. Clay's views in 1811. 
and 1816— Scene in the House with Randolph— The compen- 
sation Bill— Canvasses his Pistrict — Skirmish with Mr. Pope — 
The Old Hunter and his Rifle— The Irish Barber— Repeal of 
the Compensation Bill — South American Independence— Inter- 
nal Improvements— Mr. Clay's Relations with Mr. Madison — 
Intention of Madison at one time to appoint him Commander- 
in-Chief of the Army— Election of James Monroe — Mr. Clay 
carries his Measures in behalf of the South American States— 
His Eloquent Appeals— His Efforts Successful— His Speeches 
Read at the Head of the South American Annies— Letter from 
Bolivar— and Clay's Reply. 

The financial condition of the United States at the 
close of the War was extremely depressed. The 
currency was deranged — public credit impaired — 
and a heavy debt impending. In his message, at the 
opening of the Session of 1315-16, President Madi- 
son stated the condition of public affairs, and indi- 
cated the establishment of a National Bank and of a 
Protective TtrifT as the two great measures of relief. 

On the eighth of January, 1816, Mr. Calhoun from 
the committee on that part of the President's Mes- 
sage, relating to the Currency, reported a bill to in- 
corporate the subscribers to a Bank of the United 
Slates. 

It will be remembered that Mr. Clay in 1811, while 
a member of the Senate, had opposed the re-char- 
teiing of the old Bank. His reasons for now advo- 
cating the bill before the House have been fully and 
freely communicated to the public. 

When the application was made to renew the old 
charter of the Bank of the United States, such an 
institution did not appear to him to be so necessary to 
the fulfilment of any of the objects specifically enu- 
merated in the Constitution as to justify Congress in 
assuming, by construction, power to establish it. It 
was supported mainly upon the ground that it was 
indispensable to the treasury operations. But the 
local institutions in the several States were at that 
time in prosperous existence, confided in by 
the community, having confidence in one another, 
and maintaining an intercourse and connection the 
most intimate. Many of them were actually em- 
ployed by the Treasury to aid that department in a 
part of its fiscal arrangements; and they appeared 
to him to be fully capable of affording to it all the 
facility that it ought to desire in all of them. They 
superseded in his judgment the necessity of a Na- 
tional Institution. 

But how stood the case in 1816, when he was called 
upon again to examine the power of the General 
Government to incorporate a National Bank ? A total 
ehange ol circumstances was presented. Events of 
the utmost magnitude had intervened. A suspension 
of specie payments ''ad taken place. The currency 
of the country was completely vitiated. The Gov- 
ernment issued paper bearing an interest of six per 
cent, which it pledged the faith of the country to re- 
deem. For this paper, guaranteed by the honor and 
miih of the Government, there was obtaim d for ev- 



22 



Life of Henry Clay. 



ery one hundred dollars, eighty dollars from those 
banks which suspended specie payments. The 
experience of the War therefore showed the neces- 
sity of a Bank. The country could not get along 
without it. Mr. Clay had then changed his opinion 
on the subject, and he had never attempted to dis- 
guise the fact. In his position as Speaker of the 
House, he might have locked up his opinion in his 
own breast. But with that candor and fearlessness 
which have ever distinguished him, he had come for- 
ward, as honest men ought to come forward, and 
expressed his change of opinion, at the time 
when President Madison and other eminent men 
changed their course in relation to the Bank. 

The Constitution confeis on Congress the power 
to coin Money and to regulate the value of Foreign 
Coins : and the States are prohibited to coin money, 
to emit bills of credit, or to make any tiling but gold 
or silver coin a tender in payment of debts. The 
plain inference was, that the subject of the general 
currency was intended to be submitted exclusively 
to the General Government. In point of fact, how- 
ever, the regulation of the General Currency was in 
the hands of the State Governments, or, what was the 
same thing, of the Banks created by them. Their 
paper had every quality of money, except that of 
being made a tender, and even this was imparted to 
it, by some States, in die law by which a creditor 
must receive it, or submit to a ruinous suspension 
of the payment of his debt. 

It was incumbent upon Congress to recover the 
control which it had lost over the General Currency. 
The remedy called for was one of caution and mo- 
deration, but of firmness. Whether a remedy, di- 
rectly acting upon the Banks and their paper thrown 
into circulation, was in the power of the General 
Government or not, neither Congress nor the com- 
munity were prepared for the application of such a 
remedy. 

An indirect remedy of a milder character seemed 
to be furnished by a National Bank. Going into 
operation with the powerful aid of the Treasury of 
the United States, Mr. Clay believed it would be 
highly instrumental in the renewal of specie pay- 
ments. Coupled with the other measure adopted 
by Congress for that object, he believed the remedy 
effectual. The local Banks must follow the exam- 
ple, which the National Bank would set them, of re- 
deeming their notes by the payment of specie, or 
their notes would be discredited and put down. 

If the Constitution, then, warranted the establish- 
ment of a Bank, other considerations, besides those 
already mentioned, strongly urged it. The want of 
a general medium was everywhere felt. Exchange 
varied continually, not only between different parts 
of the Union, but between different parts of the same 
City. If the paper of a National Bank were not re- 
deemed in specie, it would be much better than the 
current paper, since though its value, in compari- 
son with specie, might fluctuate, it would afford an 
uniform standard. 

During this discussion of 1816, on the Bank Char- 
ter, a collision arose between Messrs. Clay and Ran- 
dolph, which produced great sensation for the mo- 
ment, and which it was apprehended might lead to 
serious consequences. Although Mr. Clay had 
changed his own opinion in regard to a Bank, he 
did not feel authorized to seek, in private inter- 



course, to influence that of others, and observed a 
silence and reserve not usual to him, on the subject. 
Mr. Randolph commented on this fact, and used 
language, which might bear an offensive interpreta- 
tion. When he was done, Mr. Clay rose with per- 
fect coolness, but evidently with a firm determina- 
tion, and adverting to the offensive language, ob- 
served that it required explanation, and that he 
should forbear saying what it became him to say 
until he heard the explanation, if any, which the 
Member from Virginia had to make. He sat down. 
Mr. Randolph rose and made an explanation. Mr. 
Clay again rose, and said that the explanation was 
not satisfactory. Whereupon Mr. R. again got up 
and disclaimed expressly all intentional offence. 

During the transaction of this scene, the most in- 
tense anxiety and the most perfect stillness perva- 
ded the House. You might have heard a pin fall 
in any part of it. 

The bill to re-charter the Bank was discussed for 
several weeks in the House. The vote was taken, 
on its third reading, on the 14th of March, 1816, 
when it was passed: 80 Ayes to 71 Nays: and sent 
to the Senate for concurrence. On the 2d of April, 
after the bill reported by the Financial Committee 
had received a full and thorough discussion, it was 
finally passed in that body by a vote of 22 to 12 — 
two Members only being absent. The amendments 
of the Senate were speedily adopted by the House, 
and on the 10th of April the bill became a law, by 
the signature of the President. The wisdom of the 
supporters of the measure was soon made manifest 
in the fact, that the Institution more than realized 
the most sanguine hopes of its friends. During the 
period of its existence the United States enjoyed a 
currency of unexampled purity and uniformity ; and 
the bills of the Bank were as acceptable as silver in 
every quarter of the Globe. In another part of this 
memoir will be found an outline of such a Fiscal 
Institution as Mr. Clay would be in favor of, when- 
ever a majority of the people of the United States 
might demand the establishment of a National 
Bank. 

On the 6th of March, 1816, Col. Richard M. John- 
son, from a Committee appointed for the purpose, 
reported a bill changing the mode of compensation 
to Members of Congress. The pay of Members at 
that time was six dollars a day — an amount which, 
from its inadequacy, threatened to place the legis- 
lation of the country in the hands of the wealthy. 
The new bill gave Members a salary of fifteen hun- 
dred dollars a year — to the presiding officer twice 
that amount. It passed both houses without oppo- 
sition. Mr. Clay preferred the increase of the daily 
compensation to the institution of a salary, but the 
majority were against him, and he acquiesced in 
their decision. 

He never canvassed for a seat in the House of 
Representatives but on one occasion, and that was 
after the passage of this unpalatable bill. It pro- 
duced very great dissatisfaction throughout the Uni- 
ted States, and extended to the district which he 
represented. Mr. Popp, a gentleman of great abili- 
ties, was his competitor. They had several skir- 
mishes at popular meetings, with various success ; 
but having agreed upon a general action, they met 
at Higbie, a central place and convenient of access 
to the three counties composing the district. A vast 



The Compensation Bill. 



23 



multitude assembled ; and ihe rival candidates occu- 
pied in their addresses the greater part of the day. 

Instead of confining himself to a defence of the 
Compensation Bill, which he never heartily appro- 
ved in the form of an annual salary to Members of 
Congress, Mr. Clay carried the war into the enemy's 
country. He attacked Mr. Pope's vote against the 
Declaration of War with Great Britain, dwelt on the 
wrongs and injuries which that power had inflicted 
on the United States, pointed out his inconsistency 
in opposing the War upon the ground of a want of 
preparation to prosecute it, and yet having been 
willing to declare War against both France and 
Great Britain. Thus he put his competitor on the 
defensive. The effect of the discussion was power- 
ful and triumphant on the side of Mr. Clay. From 
that day his success was no longer doubtful, and, 
accordingly, at the election which shortly after en- 
sued, he was chosen by a majority of six or seven 
hundred votes. 

During the canvass, Mr. Clay encountered an old 
bunter, who had always before been his warm friend, 
but was now opposed to his election on account of 
the Compensation Bill. " Have you a good rifle, my 
friend ? " asked Mr. Clay. " Yes." " Does it ever 
flash ! " " Once only," he replied. " What did you 
do with it — threw it away ?" " No, I picked the 
flint, tried it again, and brought down the game." 
" Have I ever flashed but upon the Compensation 
Bill?" "No." "Will you throw me away ?" "No, 
no ! " exclaimed the hunter, with enthusiasm, nearly 
overpowered by his feelings : " I will pick the flint, 
and try you again ! " He was afterward a warm 
supporter of Mr. Clay. 

This anecdote reminds us of another, which is 
illustrative of that trait of boldness and self-posses- 
sion, in the manifestation of which Mr. Clay has 
never been known to fail during his public career. 
At the time that he was a candidate for election to the 
Legislature of Kentucky in 1803, while passing a 
few weeks at the Olympian Springs, a number of 
huntsmen, old and young, assembled to hear him 
make a " stump speech." When he had finished, 
one of the audience, an ancient Nimrod, who had 
stood leaning upon his rifle for some time, regarding 
the young orator with keen attention, commenced a 
conversation with him. 

" Young man," said he, " you want to go to the 
Legislature, I see ? " 

"Why, yes," replied Mr. Clay, "since I have 
consented to be a candidate, I would prefer not to 
be defeated." 

" Are you a good shot ? " 

" Try me." 

" Very well ; I would like to see a specimen of 
your qualifications for the Legislature. Come: we 
must see you shoot*" 

" But I have no rifle here." 

" No matter : here is old Bess ; and she never fails 
in the hands of a marksman ; she has often sent death 
through a squirrel's head at one hundred yards, and 
daylight through many a red-skin twice that distance; 
if you can shoot with any gun, you can shoot with 
old Bess." 

" Well, well : put up your mark, put up your 
mark," said Mr. Clay. 

The target was placed at the distance of about 
eighty yards, when, with all the coolness and stead- 



iness of an experienced marksman, he lifted " old 
Bess " to his shoulder, fired, and pierced the very 
centre of the target. 

" Oh, a chance shot! a chance shot! " exclaimed 
several of his political opponents. " He might shoot 
all day, and not hit the mark again. Let him try' it 
over — let him try it over." 

" No ; beat that and then I will," retorted Mr. Clay. 
But as no one seemed disposed to make the attempt, 
it was considered that he had given satisfactory proof 
of his superiority as a marksman ; and this felicitous 
accident gained him the vote of every hunter in the 
assembly. The most remarkable feature in the trans- 
action remains to be told. " I had never," said Mr. 
Clay, " fired a rifle before, and never have since." 
It is needless to add that the election resulted in his 
favor. 

An Irish barber, residing in Lexington, had sup- 
ported Mr. Clay with great zeal at all elections, 
when he was a candidate, prior to the passage of 
the Compensation Bill. The fellow's unrestrained 
passions had frequently involved him in scrape3 
and difficulties, on which occasions Mr. Clay 
generally defended him and got him out of them. 
During the canvass, after the Compensation Bill, 
the barber was very reserved, took no part in the 
election, and seemed indifferent to its fate. He 
was often importuned to state for whom he meant 
to vote, but declined. At length, a few days before 
the election, he was addressed by Dr. W , a gen- 
tleman for whom he entertained the highest respect, 
and pressed to say to whom he meant to give his 
suffrage. Looking at the inquirer with great earn- 
estness and shrewdness, he said : " I tell you what, 
' docthur, I mane to vote for the man that can put 
' but one hand into the Treasury." Mr. Pope had 
the misfortune to lose, in early life, one of his arms, 
and here lay the point of the Irishman's reply. 

It is due to the memory of Jeremiah Murphy, the 
barber, te state that he repented of his ingratitude to 
Mr. Clay, whom he met one day in the streets of 
Lexington, and, accosting him, burst into tears, and 
told him that he had wronged him ; and that his 
poor wife had got round him, crying and reproach- 
ing him for his conduct, saying : "Don't you re- 
' member, Jerry, when you were in jail, Mr. Clay 

' came to you, and made that beast, William B , 

' the jailor, let you out 1 " 

Having found that the sentiments of his constitu- 
ents were decidedly opposed to the Compensation 
Bill, Mr. Clay, at the ensuing session, voted for its 
repeal. A daily allowance of eight dollars to every 
Member was substituted for the salary of fifteen hun- 
dred dollars. 

During the month of February, a bill was intro- 
duced, setting apart and pledging as a fund for In- 
ternal Improvement the bonus of the United States' 
share of the dividends of the National Bank. As 
may be presumed, this measure received the hearty 
support of Mr. Clay. Without entering at length 
into a discussion of the subject, he expressed a wish 
only to say that " He had long thought there were 
' no two subjects which could engage the attention 
' of the National Legislature, more worthy of its de- 
' liberate consideration than those of Internal Im- 
' provements and Domestic Manufactures." For 
Constitutional reasons, President Madison withheld 



24 



Life of Henry Clay 



his signature from this bill, much to the surprise of 
his friends. 

During the administration of Mr. Madison, Mr. 
Clay was, on two separate occasions, offered a seat 
in his Cabinet, or the Mission to Russia, by that 
distinguished Chief Magistrate. He declined them 
both. Mr. Madison appears to have had the highest 
estimate of his talents and worth. Indeed, so im- 
pre6sed was he with the eminent and versatile abili- 
ties of Mr. Clay, that he had selected him, at the 
commencement of the War, to be Commander in 
Chief of the Army. The nomination was not made, 
solely because Mr. Clay could not be spared from 
Congress, where his powerful mind and paramount 
influence enabled him to render services superior to 
any that could have been rendered in any other po- 
sition. 

.On the fourth of March, 1817, James Monroe took 
the oath prescribed by the Constitution, and entered 
upon the duties of the Presidency of the United 
States. The first session of the Fifteenth Congress 
commenced the ensuing December. Mr. Clay was 
again chosen Speaker. 

It would be impossible in the brief space we have 
allotted to ourselves to present even a brief abstract 
of his remarks upon the many important topics which 
now claimed the attention of Congrese. We must 
content ourselves with a succinct account of the 
leading measures with which his name and his fame 
have become identified. 

In his speech on the state of the Union in January, 
1816, he had expressed his sympathies in behalf of 
the South American Colonists, who were then stru^- 

a 

gling to throw off the yoke of the Mother Country. 
The Supreme Congress of the Mexican Republic 
afterwards voted him their thanks " for the disinter- 

• eetcd, manly and generous sentiments he expressed 

• on the floor of the House for the welfare of the In- 
' fant Republic." 

In the debate on the proposition to reduce the Di- 
rect Taxation of the Country, he had alluded to the 
existing peaceful condition of the United States, and 
had hinted the possibility of hostilities with Spain. 
He had heard that the Minister of that Nation had 
demanded the surrender of a portion of our soil — that 
part of Florida lying west of the Perdido. Without 
speaking of it as it deserved — of the impudence of 
such a demand— he alluded to it as indicative of the 
disposition of the Spanish Government. " Besides," 
eaid he, " who can tell with certainty how far it may 
' be proper to aid the people of South America in the 

• establishment of their Independence ? " The sub- 
ject, he avowed, had made a deep impression on his 
mind ; and he was not in favor of exhausting, by di- 
rect taxes, the country of those funds which might 
be needed to vindicate its rights at home, or, if ne- 
cessary, to aid the cause of Liberty in South Ame- 
rica. 

These remarks aroused all the spleen of Mr. Ran- 
dolph. " As for South America," said he, in his re- 
ply to Mr. Clay, " I am not going a-tilting for the 
' liberties of her People ; ihey came not to our aid ; 

• let us mind our own business, and not tax our Peo- 

• pie for the liberties of the People of Spanish Ame- 
•rica." He went on to ridicule the notion that the 
People of Caraccas and Mexico were capable either 
of enjoying or of understanding liberty and insinu- 
ated that Mr. Clay wa3 influenced by a desire of 



conquest. "The honorable gentleman," he said* 
'•had been sent on a late occasion to Europe; he 
' had been near the field of Waterloo, and, he feared, 
' had snuffed the carnage and caught the infection." 
" What ! " said he, " increase our Standing Army in 
' time of peace, on the suggestion that we are to go 
' on a crusade to South America ? " Mr. Clay inti- 
mated that he had advocated no such measure. — 
"Do I not understand the gentleman''" said Mr. 
Randolph ; " I am sorry I do not ; I labor under two 
' great misfortunes — one is that I can never under- 
' stand the honorable Speaker — the other is that he 
' can never understand me : on such terms, an argu- 
' ment can never be maintained between us, and I 
' shall, therefore, put an end to it." Mr. Clay sim- 
ply expressed his surprise that he could so have 
misunderstood his remarks, and deferred the general 
argument to another occasion. 

Soon after, on a proposition to " prevent our citi- 
zens from selling vessels of war to a foreign power," 
Mr. Clay opposed the bill, on account of its evident 
bearing upon the question of South American Inde- 
pendence ; it would every where be understood as a 
law framed expressly to prevent the offer of the 
slightest aid to these Republics by our citizens. — 
"With respect to the nature of their struggle," he 
said, " I have not now, for the first time, to express 
' my opinion and wishes. I wish them Independ- 
ence. It is the first step towards improving their 
' condition." 

During the summer of 1816, the President had ap- 
pointed Messrs. Rodney, Graham and Bland, Com- 
missioners to proceed to South Ametica, to ascertain 
the condition of the country. In March, 1818, the 
Appropriation Bill being before the House, Mr. Clay 
objected to the clause appropriating $30,000 for their 
compensation, as unconstitutional. He then offered 
an amendment, appropriating eighteen thousand 
dollars as the outfit and one year's salary of a Min- 
ister, to be deputed from the United States to the 
Independent Provinces of the River La Plata, in 
South America. The amendment was lost ; but Mr. 
Clay's speech in support of it was one of his most 
memorable efforts. Both Congress and the Presi- 
dent were opposed to any recognition of the Inde- 
pendence of the South American Colonists. In 
rising to promulgate views hostile to theirs, Mr. 
Clay said that, much as he valued those friends, in 
and out of the House, from whom he differed, he 
could not hesitate when reduced to the distressing 
alternative of conforming his judgment to theirs, or 
pursuing the deliberate and matured dictates of his 
own mind. 

He maintained that an oppressed People were au- 
thorized, whenever they could, to rise and break 
their fetters. This was the great principle of the 
English Revolution. It was the great principle of 
our own. Vattel, if authority were wanting, ex- 
pressly supports this right. 

Jlr. Clay said he was no propagandist. He would 
not seek to force upon other nations our principles 
and our liberty, if they did not want them. He 
would not disturb the repose even of a del* stable 
despotism. But. if an abused and oppressed People 
willed their freedom ; if thev sought to establish it; 
if, in truth, they had established it, we bad a right, 
as a sovereign power, to notice the fact, and to acS 
as circumstances and our interest required. 



South American, Independence 



25 



The Opposition had argued that the People of 
Spanish America were too ignorant and supersti- 
tious to appreciate and conduct an independent and 
free system of Government. We believe it is Mac- 
aulay, who says of this plea of ignorance as an ar- 
gument against emancipation, that with just as 
much propriety might you argue against a person's 
going into the water until he knew how to swim. — 
Mr. Clay danied the alleged fact of the ignorance of 
the Colonists. 

With regard to their superstition, he said : " They 
' worshipped the same God with us. Their prayers 
' were offered up in their temples to the same Re- 
deemer, whose intercession we expected to save us. 
1 Nor was there anything in the Catholic religion 
• unfavorable to freedom. All religions united with 
' government were more or less inimical to liberty. 
' All separated from government were compatible 
' with liberty." 

Having shown that the cause of the South Amer- 
ican patriots was just, Mr. Clay proceeded to inquire 
what course of policy it became us to adopt. He 
maintained that a recognition of their independence 
was compatible with perfect neutrality and with the 
most pacific relations toward old Spain. Recogni- 
tion alone, without aid, was no just cause of war. 
With aid, it was ; not because of the recognition, but 
because of the aid, as aid, without recognition, was 
cause of war. 

After demonstrating that the United States were 
bound, on their own principles, to acknowledge the 
Independence of the United Provinces of the river 
Plate, he alluded to the improbability that any of 
the European Monarchies would set the example of 
recognition. " Are we not bound," he asked, " upon 
' our own principles, to acknowledge this new repub- 
' lie ? If WE do not, who will ? " 

The simple words, "who will? " are said, by an 
intelligent observer, who was present, to have been 
uttered in a tone of such thrilling pathos as to stir 
the deepest sensibilities of the audience. It is by 
such apparently simple appeals that Mr. Clay, with 
the aid of his exquisitely modulated voice, often pro- 
duces the most powerful and lasting effects. 

We shall not attempt to present a summary of 
this magnificent address. " No abstract," says one 
who heard it, " can furnish an adequate idea of a 
' speech, which, as an example of argumentative ora- 
' tory, may be safely tritd by the test of the most ap- 
' proved models of any age or country. Rich in all 
' the learning connected with the subject ; method- 
' ized in an order which kept that subject constantly 
' before the hearer, and enabled the meanest capac- 
' ity to follow the speaker without effort, through a 
' long series of topics, principal and subsidiary ; at 
' once breathing sentiments of generous philanthropy 
'and teaching lessons of wisdom; presenting a va- 
' riety of illustrations which strengthened the doc- 
' trines that they embellished ; and uttering prophe- 
'cies, on which, though rejected by the infidelity of 
' the day, time has stamped the seal of truth : this 
' speech will descend to the latest posterity and re- 
' main embalmed in the praises of mankind, Ion? 
1 after the tumults of military ambition and the pints 
•of political profligacy have passed into oblivion." 

After repeated efforts and repeated failures to car- 
ry his generous measures in behalf of South Amer- 
ican Liberty, Mr. Clay, on the tenth of February 



1821, submitted for consideration a resolution de- 
claring that the House of Representatives participa- 
ted with the people of the United States, in the deep 
interest which they felt for the success of the Span- 
ish Provinces of South America, which were strug- 
gling to establish their liberty and independence; 
and that it would give its constitutional support to 
the President of the United States, whenever he 
might deem it expedient to recognize the sovereign- 
ty and independence of those Provinces. 

On this resolution, a debate of nearly four hours 
ensued, in which Mr. Clay sustained the principal 
part. Only twelve Members voted against the first 
clause of it ; and on the second, the votes were 
eighty-seven for, and sixty-eight against it. The 
question was then taken on the resolution as a whole, 
and carried in the affirmative ; and Mr. Clay imme- 
diately moved that a Committee of two Members 
should be appointed, to present it to President Mon- 
roe. Although such a course was not very usual, 
a Committee was accordingly ordered, and Mr. Clay 
was appointed its Chairman. It was agreat triumph. 
He had been long and ardently engaged in the cause, 
and, during a greater part of the time, opposed by 
the whole weight of Mr. Monroe's administration. 
And when he was appointed Chairman of the Com- 
mittee, to present the resolution, Mr. Monroe's friends 
regarded it as a personal insult, and Mr. Nelson, of 
Virgina, one of the warmest of them, retired from the 
Capitol, after the adjournment of the House, de- 
nouncing the act in the loudest tones of his remark- 
able voice, on his way down the Pennsylvania Ave- 
nue, as an unprecedented indignity to the Chief Ma- 
gistrate. 

On the 8th day of March, 1822, the President sent 
a Message to the House of Representatives, recom- 
mending the recognition of South American Inde- 
pendence. The recommendation v/as referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Relations, which, on tho 
19th of the same month, reported in favor of the 
recommendation, and of an appropriation to carry it 
into effect. The vote of recognition was finally 
passed on the 2Sth, with but a single dissenting voice. 

Such is a brief sketch of Mr. Clay's magnani- 
mous efforts in behalf of South American Indepen- 
dence. His zeal in the cause was unalloyed by one 
selfish impulse or one personal aim. He could hope 
to gain no political capital by his course. He ap- 
pealed to no sectional interest; sustained no party 
policy; labored for no wealthy client ; secured the 
influence of no man, or set of men, in his champion- 
ship of a remote, unfriended and powerless people. 
Congress and the President were vehemently op- 
posed to his proposition. But in the face of dis- 
comfiture, he persevered till he succeeded in making 
converts of his opponents, and in effecting the 
triumph of his measure. Almost single-handed, he 
sustained it through discouragement and hostility, 
till it was crowned with success. 

The effect of his spirit-stirring appeals in cheering 
the patriots of South America, was most gratifying 
and decided. His memorable plea of March. 1818, 
was, as one of his most embitter d adversaries has 
told us, read at the head of the South An-erican Ar- 
mies, to exalt their enthusiasm in battle, and quick- 
en the. consummation of their triumphs. 

The following letter from Bolivar, with Mr. Clay's 
reply, belongs to this period of his history : 



26 



Life vf Henry Clay. 



Bogota, 21st November, 1827. 

"Sir: I cannot omit availing myself of the op- 
portunity oftem d me by the departure ol Col. Walts, 
Charge d'Affaires of the United States, of taking the 
liberty of addressing your Excellency. This de- 
sire has long been entertained by me for the purpose 
of expressing my admiration of your Excellency's 
brilliant talents and ardent love of liberty. AH 
America, Columbia, and myself owe your Excel- 
lency our purest grutitude for the incomparable 
services you have rendered to us, by sustaining our 
course with a sublime enthusiasm. Accept, there- 
fore, this sincere and cordial testimony, which 
I hasten to offer to your excellency, and to the Go- 
vernment of the United States, who have so greatly 
contributed to the emancipation of your Southern 
brethren. 

" I have the honor to offer to your Excellency my 
distinguished consideration. 

" Your Excellency's obedient servant, 

"BOLIVAR." 

The following is a characteristic extract from Mr. 

Clay's Reply: 

" Washington, 27th October, 1828. 

"Sir: It is very gratilying to me to be assured 
directly by your Excellency, that the course which 
the Government of the United States took on this 
memorable occasion, and my humble efforts, have 
excited the gratitude and commanded the approba- 
tion of your Excellency. I am persuaded that I do 
riot misinterpret the feelings of the people of the 
United States, as I certainly express my own, in 
saying, that the interest which was inspired in this 
country by the arduous struggles of South Ameri- 
ca, arose principally from the hope, that, along with 
its Independence, would be established Free Institu- 
tions, insuring all the blessings of Civil Liberty. 
To the accomplishment of that object we still anx- 
iously look. We are aware that great difficulties 
oppose it, among which, not the least, is that which 
arises out of the existence of a large military force, 
raised for the purpose of resisting the power of 
Spain. Standing armies, organized with the most 
patriotic intentions, are dangerous instruments. — 
They devour the substance, debauch the morals, 
and too often destroy the liberties o( the people, 
nothing can be more perilous or unwise than to re- 
tain them after the necessity has ceased, which led 
to their formation, especially if their numbers are 
disproportionate to the revenues of the State. 

"but, notwithstanding all these diffit ulties, we 
had fondly cherished, and still indulge the hope, 
that South America would add a new triumph to 
the cause of Human Liberty ; and, that Providence 
would bless her, as He had her Northern sister, w ith 
the genius of some great and virtuous man, to con- 
duct her securely through all her trials. We had 
even flattered ourselves, that we beheld that genius 
in your excellency. But I should be unworthy of 
the consideration with which your Excellency 
honors me, and deviate from the frankness which I 
have ever endeavored to practice, if I did not, on 
tiiis occasion, state, that ambitious designs have 
been attributed by your enemies to your Excellency 
which have created in my mind great solicitude. 
They have cited late events in Colombia as proofs 
of these designs. But slow in the withdrawal of 
confidence, which I have once given, I have been 
most unwilling to credit the unfavorable ac- 
counts which have from time to time reached me. 
I cannot allow myself to believe, that your Excel- 
lency will abandon the bright and glorious path 
which lies plainly before you, for the bloody road 
passing over the liberties of the human race, on 
which the vulgar crowds of tyrants and military 
despots have so often trodden. I will not doubt, 
that your Excellency will, in due time, render a 
satisfactory explanation to Colombia and the world, 
of the parts of your public conduct which have ex- 
eited uny distrust ; and that, preferring the true 



glory of our immortal Washington to the ignoble 
fame of the destroyers of Liberty, you have formed 
the patriotic resolution of ultimately placing the 
freedom of Colombia upon a firm and sure foun- 
dation. That your efforts to that end may be 
crowned with complete success, I most fervently 
pray. 

" I request that your Exellency will accept assu- 
rances of my sincere wishes for your happinei-s and 
prosperity. H. CLAY." 

The disinterestedness of Mr. Clay's motives, in his 
course toward the South American Republics, was 
forcibly displayed in his frank and open appeal to 
Bolivar. Had his object been to acquire influence 
and popularity among the people of those countries, 
he would hardly have addressed such plain re- 
proaches and unpalatable truths to a Chief who was 
all powerful with them at the time. But in a cause 
where the freedom of any portion of mankind was 
implicated, Mr. Clay was never known to hesitate, 
to reckon his own interests, or to weigh the conse- 
quences to himself from an avowal of his own 
opinions. On all subjects, iqdeed, he is far above 
disguise; and though he may sometimes incur the 
charge of indiscretion by his uncalculating candor 
and fearless transiucency of sentiment, the trait is 
one which claims for him our affection and confi- 
dence. Independent in his opinions as in his actions, 
no suggestion of self-interest could ever interpose an 
obstacle to the bold and magnanimous utterance of 
the former, or to the conscientious discharge of the 
latter. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Internal Improvement — Mr. Monroe's Constitution!)! Objec- 
tions — Mr. Clay replies to them — Congress adopts bis Princi- 
ples—The Cumberland Road— Anecdote— Monument— Dis- 
cussion of General Jackson's conduct in the Seminole Cam- 
paign — Mr. Clay's Opinions of that Chieftain in 181f>— A 
Prophetic Glimpse — Mr. Adams and General Jackson — The 
Father of the' American System— Bill to regulate Duties, 
&c. — Mr. Clay's Speech in behalf of the Protective Policy — 
His Great Speech of 1824— Passage of the TarifT Bill— Results 
of his Policy— Voice of the Country— His unremitted Exer 
tions— Randolph's Sarcasms— Anecdote. 

We have seen that from an early period Mr. Clay 
was an advocate of the doctrine of Internal Improve- 
ment. His Speech in Congress in 1306 had been in 
vindication of the policy authorizing the erection of 
a bridge across the Potomac River. In the passages 
we have quoted from his Speech of January, 1816, 
he declared himself in favor not only of a system of 
International Improvement, but of Protection to our 
Manufactures. 

It will be remembered that the bill appropriating 
for purposes of Internal Improvement the bonus 
which was to be paid by the Bank of the United 
Stales to the General Government, after having 
been passed by Congress, had been returned by 
President Madison without his signature, in conse- 
quence of Constitutional objections to the bill. Jlr. 
Clay had been much surprised at this act; for.Mr. 
Madison, in one of his Messages, had said : — " I 
' particularly invite again the attention of Congress 
' to the expediency of exercising their existing 
' powers, and, where necessary, of resorting to the 
' prescribed mode of enlarging them, in order to 
' effectuate a comprehensive system of Roads and 
'Canals, such as will have the effect of drawing 
' more closely together every part of our Country, 
i by promoting intercourse and improvements, and 



Internal Improvements — Remarks on Gen. Jackson's Conduct in Florida. 



27 



• by increasing the share of every part in the com- 
« mon stock of national prosperity." 

Mr. Monroe, in anticipation of the action of Con- 
gress, had expressed an opinion in his Message 
opposed to the right of Congress to establish a 
system of International Improvement. Mr. Jeffer- 
son's authority was also cited to show that, under 
the Constitution, Roads and Canals could not be 
constructed by the General Government without 
the consent of the State or States through which 
they were to pass. Thus three successive Presi- 
dents had opposed the proposition. 

Against this weight of precedent, Mr. Clay un- 
dertook to persuade Congress of their power under 
the Constitution to appropriate money for the con- 
struction of Military Roads, Post Roads and Canals. 
A Resolution, embodying a clause to this effect, came 
before the House in March, 1818; and he lent to it 
his unremitting advocacy. 

In regard to the Constitutionality of the proposed 
measure, he contended that the power to construct 
Post Roads is expressly granted in the power to 
establish Post Roads. With respect to Military 
Roads, the concession that they might be made 
when called for by the emergency, was admitting 
that the Constitution conveyed the power. " And 
' we may safely appeal," said Mr. Clay, " to the 
'judgment of the candid and enlightened to decide 
1 between the wisdom of those two constructions, 
' of which one requires you to wait for the exercise 
' of your power until the arrival of an emergency 
'which may not allow you to exert it; and the 
' other, without denying you the power, if you can 
' exercise it during the emergency, claims the right 
' of providing beforehand against the emergency.' 

Mr. Clay's motion, recognizing in Congress the 
Constitutional power to make appropriations for 
Internal Improvements, was finally carried by a 
vote of 90 to 75. The victory was a most signal 
one, obtained, as it was, over the transmitted preju- 
dices of two previous Administrations, and the 
active opposition of the one in power. 

From that period to his final retirement from the 
Senate he was the ever-vigilant and persevering 
advocate of Internal Improvements. Ho was the 
father of the System, and has ever been its most 
efficient upholder. On the 16th of January, 1824, 
he addressed the House upon a bill authorizing the 
President to effect certain surveys and estimates of 
Roads and Canals. 

The opponents of the system, including President 
Monroe, had claimed that, in respect to post-roads, 
the General Government had no other authority than 
to use such as had been previously established by 
the States. They asserted that to repair such roads 
was not within the Constitutional power of Govern- 
ment. Mr. Monroe gave his direct sanction to this 
doctrine, maintaining that the States were at full 
liberty to alter, and of course to shut up, post-roads 
at pleasure. 

" Is it possible," asked Mr. Clay, " that this con- 
' struction of the Constitution can be correct — a 
' construction which allows a law of the United 
' States, enacted for the good of the whole, to be ob- 
' structed or defeated in its operation by a County 

Court in any one of the twenty-four Sovereign- 
'fieaV 

To Mr. Clay's strenuous and persevering exertions 



for the continuance of the great Cumberland Road 
across the Alleghanies, the records of Congress will 
bear ample and constantly recurring testimony. He 
himself has said : — " We have had to beg, entreat, 
' supplicate you, session after session, to grant the 
' necessary appropriations to complete the Road. I 
' have myself toiled until my powers have been ex 
' hausted and prostrated, to prevail on you to make 
' the grant." His courageous efforts were at length 
rewarded ; and to him we are indebted for the most 
magnificent road in the United States. 

At a dinner given to him a few years since by the 
mechanics of Wheeling, Mr. Clay spoke warmly, 
and with something like a parental feeling, of this 
Road — expressing a wish that it might be retained, 
improved and extended by the Nation. He illustra- 
ted its importance by observing that, before it was 
made, he and his family had expended a whole day 
of toilsome and fatiguing travel to pass the distance 
of about nine miles, from Uniontown to Freeman's, 
on the summit of Laurel Hill ; adding that eighty 
miles over that and other mountains were now made 
in one day by the public stage. He said that the 
Road was the only comfortable pass across the 
mountains, and that he would not consent to give it 
up to the keeping of the States through which it 
happened to run. The People of nine States might 
thus be interfered with in their communication with 
the rest of the Union. 

The country has not been wholly unmindful of 
Mr. Clay's pre-eminent services in behalf of this be- 
neficent measure. On the Cumberland Road stands 
a Monument of stone, surmounted by the Genius of 
Liberty, and bearing as an inscription the name of 
" Henry Clay." 

During the second session of the Fifteenth Con- 
gress, in January, 1819, the subject of Gen. Andrew 
Jackson's conduct in his celebrated Florida cam • 
paign came up for discussion. That Chieftain, after 
subjecting the vanquished Indians to conditions the 
most cruel and impracticable, had hung two prison- 
ers of war, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, and concluded 
his series of outrages by lawlessly seizing the Spa- 
nish posts of St. Marks and Pensacola. 

Committees of the Senate and of the House made 
reports reprobatory of his conduct ; and resolutions 
were presented, containing four propositions. The 
first asserted the disapprobation of the House of the 
proceedings in the trial and execution of Arbuthnot 
and Ambrister. Thft second contemplated the pas- 
sage of a law to prevent the execution hereafter of 
any captive taken by the Army, without the appro- 
bation of the President. The third proposition was 
expressive of the disapproval of the forcible seizure 
of the Spanish posts, as contrary to orders, and in 
violation of the Constitution. The fourth proposi- 
tion was that a law should pass to prohibit the march 
of the Army of the United States, or any corps of it, 
into any foreign territory, without the previous au- 
thorization of Congress, except it were in fresh pur- 
suit of a defeated enemy. 

We will not attempt an abstract of Mr. Clay's elo- 
quent and argumentative Speech* in support of 
these propositions. Far less disposed are we to re- 

* See the " Life and Speeches of Henry (May. Two vols. 8vo. 
With Engravings. F*;w-York : Greeley & McElrath, Tribune 
Buildings." These two capacious volumes are afforded at Oaa 
Dollar— a miracle of cheapness 



28 



Life if Henry Clay. 



peat the discreditable history of the wrongs and usur- 
pations perpetrated by Gen. Jackson. It may be 
proper to state, however, that Mr. Clay, grateful for 
the public services of the General, treated him with 
a forbearance und kindness which rendered the sin- 
cerity of his animadversions the more obvious. — 
" With respect to the purity of his intentions," said 
Mr. Clay, " 1 am disposed to allow it in the most ex- 
' tensive degree. Of his acts it is my duty to speak 
'with ihe freedom which belongs to my station." 

The Speaker then proceeded to expose, in a most 
forcible point of view, the dangerous and arbitrary 
character of those acts, and the Constitutional vio- 
lations of which Gen. Jackson had been guilty. — 
There are many passages in this speech which, when 
we regard them in connection with the subsequent 
Presidential usurpations of the same Military Chief- 
tsin, seem truly like prophetic glimpses. Take, for 
example, the concluding paragraph : 

" Gentlemen may bear down all opposition ; they 
may even vote the General the public thanks; ihey 
may carry him triumphantly through this House. 
But, if i hey do, in my humble judgment it will be a 
triumph of the principle of insubordination — a tri- 
umph of the Military over the Civil authority — a tri- 
umph over ttie poweis of this House — a triumph 
over the Constitution of the land. And I pray most 
devoutly to Heaven that it may not prove, in its ul- 
timate effects, a triumph over the liberties of the 
People." 

Even at that distant day, Mr. Clay saw in the con- 
duct of General Jackson the indications of that im- 
perious will — of that spirit of insubordination — 
which, dangerous as they were in a Military Com- 
mander, wre not less pernicious and alarming in a 
Civil Chief Magistrate. With his keen, instinctive 
faculty of penetration, he discovered the despotic 
and impulsive character of the man. Every page of 
his speech on the Seminole campaign furnishes ev- 
idence of this fact. 

How, then, when the question was presented to 
him of deciding between the qualifications of John 
Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson for the Presi- 
dency of the United States — how could Henry Clay, 
as a consistent and honorable man, hesitate for a 
moment in his choice ? And yet an amount of oblo- 
quy and vituperation, such as never before was 
heaped upon a public servant, has been lavished on 
him because of his refusing to vote for General Jack- 
son on that occasion! Had he done so, he would 
have been false to his past professions and convic- 
tions — false to conscience, to patriotism, and the 
plainest dictates of duty. 

The resolutions of censure, being strenuously op- 
posed by Mr. Monroe and his cabinet, were lost in 
the House by a small majority. The dispassionate 
judgment of posterity will inevitably accord with 
the views so eloquently expressed by Mr. Clay in 
regard to General Jackson's conduct in Florida. 

We come now to one of the most important epochs 
in Mr. Clay's public history. In the opinion of a 
large portion of the people of the United States, it 
is to his long-continued, arduous and triumphant 
efforts in the cause of Protection to American Indus- 
try and skill, that he will be indebted for his 
highest and most enduring fame. We have seen 
that as far back as 1810, he laid the foundniion-stone 
of that great and beneficent American System, of 
which he was the originator and the architect. 



To specify and describe all his labors in the es- 
tablishment and advancement of his noble policy, 
from that time to the period of his retirement from 
the Senate, would alone fill more space than we can 
give to his whole life. The journals of Congress 
and the political newspapers of the country for the 
last thirty years will be found to be occupied to no 
inconsiderable extent with the record of his efforts 
and arguments and uniiring appeals. We can pre- 
sent but a very imperfect outline of his glorious 
though peaceful achievements in the cause of human 
industry, labor and prosperity. 

On the twelfth of March, 1816, Mr. Lowndes, of 
South Carolina, fiom the Committee of Ways and 
Means, introduced before the House a bill " to Reg- 
ulate the Duties on Imports and Tonnage, &c." The 
bill was avowedly favorable to a Tariff of Pro- 
tection ; and, strange as the record may seem, one 
of its most ardent supporters was John C. Calhoun. 
The whole question was debated with reference to 
the Protective policy. It was thoroughly discussed 
in Committee of the Whole ; and, through the exer- 
tions of Mr. Clay, a higher duty was adopted lor the 
important article of woolens. The amendment, how- 
ever, was unfortunately lost in the House; but the 
bill, such as it was, was passed. 

In the spring of 1820, the subject of a Tariff again 
came before Congress; and Mr. Clay made a most 
interesting and impressive speech in favor of Pro- 
tective Duties. " I frankly own," said he on this 
occasion, " that I feel great solicitude for the success 
of this bill. The entire independence of my country 
on nil foreign States, as it respects a supply of 
our essential wants, has ever been with me a favor- 
ite object. The War of our Revolution effected our 
political emancipation. The Last War contributed 
greatly towards accomplishing our commercial free- 
dom. But our complete independence will only be 
consummated after the policy of this bill shall be 
recognized and adopted. We have indeed great 
difficulties to contend with ; old habits— colonial 
usages — the enormous profits of a foreign trade, 
prosecuted under favorable circumstances, which no 
longer continue. I will not despair. The cause, I 
verily believe, is the cause of the country. It may 
be postponed ; it may he frustrated for the moment, 
but it finally must prevail." And it was postponed ; 
it was frustrated for the moment; but it finally did 
prevail. 

The Tariff was remodelled by the House, but their 
bill was rejected by the Senate. 

In 1823, the. health of Mr. Clay was very poor — so 
much so, that his life was despairfd of both by his 
friends and himself. He had attended the Olympian 
Springs in Kentucky, in the summer, had been 
placed under a strict regimen and subjected to a long 
course of medicine. In spite of all remedies he 
fella gradual decline, and looked fi.rward to a speedy 
dissolution. In November he was to start for Wash- 
ington, and fully anticipated that, after reaching 
that city, if he reached it at all, he should be obliged 
to hasten to the South as a last resort. He procured 
a small travelling carriage and a saddle-horse — 
threw aside all the prescriptions of the physician, 
and commenced his journey. Daily he walked on 
foot, drove in his carriage and rode on horseback. 
He arrived at Washington quite well, was elected 
Speaker, and went through more labor than he ever 



Results of the American System. 



29 



performed in the same Session, excepting, perhaps, 
the Extra Session of 1841. 

The condition of the country in 1824 was far from 
pi-onerous. Tlie amount of our exports had dimin- 
ished to an alarming degree, while our imports of 
foreign goods had £ reatly increased. The country 
was thus drained of its Currency ; and its Commerce 
was crippled. Nor was there any home-market for 
the staple productions of our soil. Both cotton- 
planters and wool-growers shared in the general 
prostration ; and even the Farmer had to sell his 
produce at a loss, or keep it on hand till it was 
ruined. Labor could with difficulty find employ- 
ment; and its wages were hardly sufficient to sup- 
ply the bare necessities of life. Money could only 
be procured at enormous sacrifices. Distress and 
Bankruptcy pervaded every class of the commu- 
nity. 

In January, 1824, a Tariff Bill was reported by 
the Committee on Manufactures of the House : and 
in March following, Mr. Clay made his great and 
ever memorable Speech in the House, in support of 
American Industry. Many of our readers will vividly 
remember the deplorable state of the country at 
that time,. It is impressively portrayed in his ex- 
ordium on this occasion 



'temptation of a people out of debt; land rising 
♦ slowly in value, but in a secure and salutary de- 
' gree ; a ready though not extravagant market fur 
'all the surplus productions of our industry; innu- 
'merable flocks and herds browsing and gamboling 
' on ten thousand hills and plains, covered with rich 
« and verdant grasses ; our cities expanded, and 
' whole villages springing up, aa it were, by enchant- 
'ment; our exports and imports increased and in- 
' creasing, our tonnage, foreign and coastwise, swel- 
'ling and fully occupied; the rivers of our interior 
'animated by the thunder and lightning of countless 
' steamboats ; the currency sound and abundant ; the 
' public debt of two wars nearly redeemed ; and, 
'to crown all, the public Treasury overflowing, em- 
'barrassing Congress, not to find subjects of taxa- 
' tion, but to select the objects which shall be re- 
i ' lieved from the impost. If the term of seven years 
' were to be selected of the greatest prosperity which 
' this people have enjoyed since the establishment 
' of their present Constitution, it would be exactly 
'that period of seven years which immediately fol- 
' lowed the passage of the Tariff of 1824." 

Such were the consequences of the benign legisla- 
tion introduced and carried into operation by Henry 
Clay. And though the reverse of the picture was 



The cause of the wide-spread distress, which ex- soon presented to us, through the violent Execu 

isted, he maintained was to be found in the fact that, tive measures of General Jackson, inflating and then 

during almost the whole existence of this Govern- prostrating the Currency, and the course afterward 

merit, we had shaped our industry, our navigation pursued, we have the satisfaction of knowing that 

and our commerce in reference to an extraordinary Mr. Clay has never wavered in his course ; and that, 

market in Europe, and to foreign markets, wh:ch had his warnings been regarded and his counsels 

no longer existed ; in the fact that we had depended taken, a far different state of things would, in all 

too much upon foreign sources of supply, and ex- probability, have existed, 
cited too little the native. The unanimous voice of the Country has ac- 

On this occasion, Mr. Webster, whose views upon ' corded to Mr. Clay the merit of having been the fa 



the subject afterwards underwent an entire change, 
opposed the bill with the whole powerful weight 
of his talents and legal profundity. Mr. Clay took 
up one by one the objections of the opposition, la- 
boriously examined and confuted them. For speci- 
mens of pure and strongly-linked argument, the an- 
nals of Congress exhibit no speech superior to that 
of March, 1824. In amplitude and variety of facts, 
in force and earnestness of language, and cogency 
of appeal to the reason and patriotism of Congress 
and the people, it has been rarely equalled. It would 
have been surprising indeed, if, notwithstanding the 
strongly arrayed opposition, such a speech had 
failed in overcoming it. Experience has amply 
proved the validity and justice of its arguments. Its 
prophecies have been all fulfilled. 

The Tariff Bill finally passed the House, the 
16th of April, 1824, by a vote of 107 to 102. It soon 
afterwards became a law. 

We will leave it to Mr. Clay himself to describe 
the results of his policy, eight years after it had been 
adopted as the policy of the country. After recall- 
m* the gloomy picture he had presented in 1824, he 
said : " I have now to perform the more pleasing 
'task of exhibiting an imperfect sketch of the exist- 
' ing state — of the unparalleled prosperity of the 
' country. On a general survey, we behold cultiva- 
' tion extending, the aits flourishing, the face of the 
'country improved, our people fully and profitably 
' employed, and the public countenance exhibiting 
'tranquility, contentment and happiness. And, if we 
1 descend into particulars we have the agreeable, con- 



ther of the system, which has been justly called the 
American System. To his personal history belong 
the testimonials of the various State Legislatures 
and Conventions, and of the innumerable public 
meetings, in all parts of the country, which awarded 
him the praise, and tendered him the grateful ac- 
knowledgements of the community. To his indi- 
vidual exertions, the manufacturing industry of tho 
United States is indebted to a degree which it is now 
difficult to realize. By the magic power of his elo- 
quence, the country was raised from a state of pros- 
tration and distress; cities were called into exist- 
ence, and the wilderness was truly made to blos- 
som like the rose. 

Mr. Clay's zealous and laborious efforts in behalf 
of the Tariff can only be appreciated by a reference 
to the Journal of the House of that period. It seems 
as if he had been called upon to battle for every 
item of the bill, inch by inch. The whole power of 
a large and able opposition was arrayed against 
him ; and every weapon that argument, rhetoric and 
ridicule could supply was employed. John Ran- 
dolph was, as on former occasions, an active and 
bitter antagonist. Once or twice he provoked Mr. 
Clay into replying to his personal taunts. " Sir," 
said Mr. C, on one occasion, " the gentleman from 
' Virginia was pleased to say that, in one point at 
' least, he coincided with me — in an humble estimate 
'of my grammatical and philological acquirements, 
' I know my deficiencies. I was born to no proud 
' patrimonial estate ; from my father I inherited only 
'infancy, ignorance, and indigence. I feel my 



30 



Life of Henry Clay. 



•defects ; but, so far as my situation in early life is 
'concerned, I may, without presumption, say they 
' are more my misfortune than my fault. But, how- 
' ever I deplore my want of ability to furnish to the 
4 gentleman a better specimen of powers of verbal 
1 criticism, I will venture to say, my regret is not 
' greater than the disappointment of this Committee 
'as to the strength of his argument." 

The following is in a different vein. After the 
passage of the TariffBill, on the 16th of April, 1824, 
when the House had adjourned and the Speaker was 
stepping down from his seat, a gentleman who had 
voted with the majority, said to him, " we have 
done pretty well to-day."—" Yes," returned Mr. 
Clay, " we made a good stand, considering we lost 
both our Feet" — alluding to Mr. Foot of Connecti- 
cut, and Mr. Foote of New- York, who both voted 
against the bill, though it was thought, some time 
before, that they would give it their support. 



CHAPTER VII. 

The Missouri Question-Mr. Clay resigns the Speakership— The 
Union in Danger— He resumes his seat in Congress— Unparal- 
leled incitement— His compromise of the Question— Pacifica- 
tion of Parties— Character of his Efforts— Proposition of John 
Randolph and some of the Southern Members— Interview with 
Randolph— Anecdotes— Randolph and Sheffey— Mr. Clay's Re- 
tirement from Congress— Derangement of his Private Affairs- 
Return to the House— Again chosen Speaker— Jeu D'esprit— 
Mr. Clay's Address— Independence of Greece— His Speech- 
Labors during the Session of 1824— Reception of Lafayette in 
the House— VY elcomed by Mr. Clay— Lafayette's Reply— La- 
Fayette's wish to see Mr. Clay President— Anecdote— Mr. Clay 
and Mr. Monroe. 

During the Session of 1820-21, the "distracting 
question," as it was termed, of admitting Missouri 
into the Union, which had been the subject of many 
angry and tedious debates, was discussed in both 
branches of Congress. The controverted point was, 
whether she should be admitted as a Slave State. 

Slavery had been expressly excluded from Ohio, 
Indiana, and Illinois, by acts of Congress, on their 
admission into the Union. But that restriction was, 
by virtue of an ordinance of the former Congress, 
under the Confederation, prohibiting the introduction 
of slavery into the Northwest Territory, out of which 
these States were formed. Missouri was part of the 
Louisiana Territory, purchased of France in 1803. 
And in various parts of that extensive Territory, 
slavery then existed, and had long been established. 

Louisiana had been admitted into the Union without 
any restriction of the kind proposed for Missouri. The 
States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Ala- 
bama had also been admitted as separate States pre- 
vious to this period ; and, as they were taken from 
States in which Slavery existed, they had been made 
subject to no such restriction. It was contended 
that, on the same principle, Missouri should also be 
received, without requiring, as a condition of ad- 
mission, the exclusion of Slavery. And it was also 
insisted that it would be interfering with the inde- 
pendent character of a State to enforce any such 
restriction, which was manifestly a subject of regu- 
lation by the State authority. 

On the contrary, it was urged that in the old 
States the subject was expressly settled by the Con- 
stitution, and Cougress could not justly interfere in 
those States; but that it was otherwise with new 
States received into the Union; in which case Con- 
gress had the right, to impose such restrictions and 



conditions as it might choose ; that it was evidently 
the intention of the old Congress not to extPnd 
Slavery, having prohibited its introduction or exist- 
ence in new States to be formed out of the North- 
west Territory; and that Slavery was so great an * 
evil, and so abhorrent to the principles of a free 
Government, that it should be abolished or prohib- 
ited wherever it could be Constitutionally effected. 
The discussion went on from month to month, and 
from session to session, increasing in fierceness, and 
diverging farther and farther from the prospect of an 
amicable settlement. Among the prominent advo- 
cates for excluding Slavery from Missouri were 
Rufus King from New-York, Otis of Massachusetts, 
Dana of Connecticut, Sergeant and Hemphill of 
Pennsylvania. Of those opposed to Restriction, 
were Holmes of Massachusetts, Vandyke and 
McLanc of Delaware, Pinckney of Maryland, Ran- 
dolph and Barbour of Virginia, Lowndes of South 
Carolina, Clay and Johnson of Kentucky. 

A bill for the admission of Missouri had been 
defeated during the Session of 1818-19; and the 
inflammatory subject had, during the vacation of 
Congress, given rise to incessant contention. The 
Press entered warmly into the controversy. The 
most violent pamphlets were published on both 
sides. Public meetings thundered forth their Reso- 
lutions ; and the Union seemed to be fearfully shaken 
to its centre. It may be imagined, then, with what 
interest the next Session of Congress was looked to 
by the People. 

Many eloquent Speeches were mads in the House 
upon the question. Mr. Clay spoke, at one time, 
nearly four hours against the Restriction ; but there 
remains no published sketch of his remarks. The 
vote in the House of Representatives was several 
times given for excluding Slavery; but the Senate 
disagreed, and would not yield to the House. 

In 1820, the People of the Territory of Missouri 
proceeded to ordain and establish a Constitution of 
Goverment for the contemplated State. Among 
other provisions, it was ordained in the twenty- 
sixth section of the Third Article, that it should be 
the duty of the General Assembly, " as soon as 
' might be, to pass such lairs as were necessary to 
1 prevent free Negroes and MulaUoes from coming 
' to and settling in the State, under any pretext 
' whatever." Under this Constitution a State Gov- 
ernment was organized ai.d went into operation. 

This clause, for the exclusion of free Negroes and 
Mulattoes, fanned into fresh life the flame of excite- 
ment, which had been partially allayed. The whole 
country was now thrown into commotion upon the 
question of admitting Missouri. 

In the autumn of 1820, Mr. Clay, who bad ex- 
perienced heavy pecuniary losses by endorsing for 
a friend, resolved to retire from Congress, and, in 
the practice of the law, devote himself to the repara- 
tion of his private affairs. Accordingly, at the meet- 
ing of Congress, the 13th of November, 1820, the 
Clerk having announced that a quorum was 
present, said that he had received a letter from 
the Hon. Henry Clay, which, with the leave of the 
House, he read as follows : 

" Lexington, (Ky.) October 28, 1820. 
"Sir: I will thank you to communicate to the 
House of Representatives, that, owing to imperious 
tircumstances, I shall not be able to attend upon it 



The Missouri Question. 



31 



until after the Christmas holidays : and to respect- 
fully ask it to allow me to resign the othce of its 
Speaker, which 1 have the honor to hold, and to 
consider this as the act of my resignation. I beg the 
House also to permit me to reiterate the expression 
of my sincere acknowledgments and unaffected grat- 
itude for the distinguished consideration which it 
has uniformly manifested for me. I have the honor 
to be, &c. H. CLAY. 

"Thos. Dougherty, Esq.. Clerk H. of R." 

In view of the agitating question before Congress, 
Mr. Clay consented, however, to retain his seat as 
a member of the House till his term of service ex- 
pired, although no longer its presiding officer. 
Early in the session the Missouri question came up. 
Those who now opposed its admission contended, 
that free citizens and mulattoes were citizens of the 
States of their residence ; that as such, they had a 
right, under the Constitution, to remove to Missouri, 
or any other State of the Union, and there enjoy all 
the privileges and immunities of other citizens ol 
the United States emigrating to the same place; 
and, therefore, that the clause in the Constitution 
of Missouri, quoted above, was repugnant to that 
of the United States, and she ought not to be 
received into the Union. 

On the other hand, it was maintained that the 
African race, whether bond or free, were not parties 
to our Political Institutions ; that, therefore, free 
Negroes and Mulattoes were not citizens, within the 
meaning of the Constitution of the United States; 
and that even if the Constitution of Missouri were 
repugnant to that of the United States, the latter 
was paramount, and would ovt-rrule the conflicting 
provision of the former, without the interference of 
Congress. 

Such was the perilous and portentous question 
which now threatened a disruption of the Union. — 
In some shape or other it was presented almost daily 
and hourly to Congress; and became, at length, a 
perfect incubus upon legislation. In this state of 
things, Mr. Clay arrived in Washington, and took 
his seat in the House on th° sixteenth of January, 
1321. On the second of February, he submitted a 
motion to refer a Resolution of the Senate on the 
Missouri Question to a Committee of Thirteen — a 
number suggested by that of the original States of 
the Union. The motion was agreed to, and the fol 
lowing gentlemen were appointed a Committee ac- 
cordingly : 

Messrs. Clay of Ky., Eustis of Mass., Smith of 
Md., Sergeant of Pa., Lowndes of S. C, Ford of N. 
Y., Campbell of Ohio, Archer of Va., Hackley of N. 
Y., S. Moore of Pa., Cobb of Ga., Tomlinson of Ct., 
Butler of N. H. 

On the tenth of the same month, Mr. Clay made 
a report, concluding with an amendment to the Sen- 
ate's resolution, by which amendment Missouri was 
admitted upon the following fundamental condition : 

"It is provided that the said State shall never 
pass any law preventing any description of persons 
from coming to and settling in the said State, who 
now are or hereafter may become citizens of any of 
the States of this Union ; and provided also, that the 
Legislature of the said State, by a solemn public act, 
shall declare the assent of the said State to the said 
fundamental condition, and shall transmit to the Pre- 
sident of the United States, on or before the fourth 
Monday in November next, an authentic copy of the 
said Act; upon the receipt whereof, the President, 
by proclamation, shall announce the fact; whereup- 
on, and without any further proceedings on the part 



of Congress, the admission of the said State into the 
Union shall be considered as complete : And pro- 
vided, further, that nothing herein contained shall be 
construed to take from the State of Missouri, when 
admitted into the Union, the exercise of any right or 
power which can now be constitutionally exercised 
by any of the original States. 11 

In defence of his report, Mr. Clay said that, al- 
though those favorable to the admission of Missouri 
could not succeed entirely in their particular views, 
yet he was of opinion that they had, as regarded the 
Report of the Committee, nothing to complain of. — 
At the same time, the Report was calculated to ob- 
viate the objections of those who had opposed the 
admission of Missouri on the ground of the objection 
to he/ Constitution which had been avowed. Thus 
consulting the opinions of both sides of the House, 
in that spirit of compromise which is occasionally 
necessary to the existence of all societies, he hoped 
it would receive the countenance of the House; and 
he earnestly invoked the spirit of harmony and kin- 
dred feeling to preside over the deliberations of the 
House on the subject. 

The question being taken in Committee of the 
Whole on the amendment proposed by Mr. Clay, it 
was decided in the negative by a vote of 73 to 64. — 
This decision was afterward overruled in the House. 
On the question, however, of the third reading of the 
Resolution, it was rejected, by a vote of 83 to 80, in 
consequence of the defection of Mr. Randolph of 
Virginia, who dreaded the increase of popularity 
which would accrue to Mr. Clay by the success of 
his proposition. A reconsideration was moved and 
carried the next day, and the question of the third 
reading was again brought before the House. Ano- 
ther protracted and bitter debate followed, and was 
concluded by a speech of an hour's duration from 
Mr. Clay, who is represented by the cotemporary 
journals as having " reasoned, remonstrated and en- 
treated that the House would settle the question." 

On the fourteenth of February, the two Houses of 
Congress met in the hall of the House of Represent- 
atives, to perform the ceremony of counting the votes 
for President and Vice President of the United States. 
A scene of great confusion occurred when the votes 
of the Electors for Missouri were announced by the 
President of the Senate, and handed to the Tellers. 
The Members of the Senate withdrew, and a violent 
discussion sprang up. By the exertions of Mr. Clay, 
order was at length restored, and, on his motion, a 
Message was sent to the Senate that the House was 
ready to proceed to the completion of the business 
of counting the votes. 

The Senate again came in. The votes of Missouri 
were read, and the result of all the votes having been 
read, it was announced by the President of the Sen- 
ate, that the total number of votes for James Monroe 
as President of the United States, was 231, and, if 
the votes of Missouri were not counted was 228; 
that, in either event, James Monroe had a majority 
of the whole number of votes given. James Monroe 
was accordingly re-elected President for four years, 
commencing on the ensuing fourth of March. 

While the proclamation was being made, two 
Members of the House claimed the floor to inquire 
whether the votes of Missouri were or were not 
counted. Another scene of confusion hereupon en- 
sued, and the House were finally obliged to adjourn 
in order to put an end to it 



32 



Life of Henry Clay. 



The rejection of Mr. Clay's report seemed to shut 
out all prospect of an amicable compromise. He was 
not disheartened, however. He never despaired of 
the Republic. On the twenty-second of February, 
be submitted the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That a Committee be appointed, on 
the part of this House, jointly with such Committee 
as may be appointed on the part of the Senate, to 
consider and report to the Senate and to the House, 
respectively whether it be expedient or not 10 make 
provision for the admission of Missouri into the Un- 
ion on the same tooting as the original States, and for 
the due execution ol the laws of the Uniied States 
within M.ssouri; and if not, whether any other, and 
what provision, adapted to her actual condition, 
ought to be made by law." 

This resolution was adopted in the House by a 
rote of 103 to 55. The Senate acceded to it by a 
large majority. 

The Joint Committees of the two Houses met on 
the twenty-fifth of February, 1821 ; and a plan of 
accommodation, proposed by Mr. Clay, was adopted, 
unanimously on the part of the Committee of the 
Senate, and nearly so by that of the House. The 
next day he reported to the House from the Com- 
mittee a resolution, which was the same in effect as 
that which we have already quoted as having been 
reported by the former Committee of thirteen Mem- 
bers. A short discussion ensued, which was checked 
by a call for the Previous Question. The resolu- 
tion was then adopted by a vote of eighty-seven to 
eightv-onc. The Senate concurred, and the mo 
mentous question, which for three Sessions had ag- 
itated Congress, was, at length through the labors 
and influence of Henry Clay, peaceably settled. 

The achievement of this vital compromise must 
have been one of the most gratifying triumphs of his 
political career. By his personal influence and abil- 
ities, he had saved the Republic. He deservedly 
won on this occasion the appropriate title of " the 
Great Pacificator; " for to his individual exertions do 
we owe it, that we were saved from the prospect of a 
dissolution of the Union. His efforts in and out of 
Congress were uncoasing in accomplishing his ob- 
ject. He made direct personal appeals to those whom 
he could not influence in public debate, and left no 
means untried for bringing Congress to that harmo- 
nious state, which was essential to the safety of the 
country. 

While the Missouri question was pending, and the 
excitement of the contending parties was running to 
a great and alarming hight, Mr. Randolph, and per- 
haps some other gentlemen of the South, conceived 
the projetc of the whole Delegation from the Slave- 
holding States, in a body, abandoning the House, 
and leaving its b ii-iness to be carried on, if at all, by 
the Representatives from the other States. At that 
time, one of those conditions of noM-intercoiirse, 
which we have described existed hetween him and 
Mr. Clay ; but notwithstanding that, one night when 
the House was in session by candle-light, Mr. Claj 
being out of the Chair, Mr. Randolph approached him 
in the most courteous manner and said; "Mr 
• Speaker, I wish you would leave the Chair. I will 
' follow you to Kentucky or any where else in the 
' world." 

Mr. Clay replied : " That is a very serious prop- 
osition, Mr. Randolph ; we have not time now to 
discuss it; but it you will come into the Speaker's 



room to-morrow morning, before the House assem- 
bles, we will consider it together." 

He accordingly attended there with punctuality. 
They remained in earnest conversation about an 
hour, Mr. Clay contending that it was wisest to com- 
promise the question, if it could be done without any 
sacrifice of principle, and Mr. Randolph insisting 
that the Slave States had the right on their side 
that matters must come to an extremity ; and that 
there could be no more suitable occasion to bring 
them to that issue. They maintained their respect- 
ive opinions firmly but amicably, without coming to 
any agreement. 

When they were about separating, Mr. Clay ob- 
served to Mr. Randolph, that he would take ihat op- 
portunity of saying to him, that he (Mr. Randolph) 
had used exceptionable language sometimes when 
the Speaker was in the Chair and had no opportu- 
nity of replying; and that he was often provoked 
thereat. " Well, !>lr. Speaker," said Rai dolph, "I 
' think you sometimes neglect me; you won't listen 
' tome when I am addressing; the chair, but turn your 
' head away, and ask for a pinch of snuff." 

Mr. Clay rejoined: "You are mistaken. lam 
' listening when I may not seem to be ; and I can 
' repeat as much of any one of your late speeches 
' as you yourself can, good as I know your memory 
' to be." 

"Well," replied Mr. Randolph, " perhaps 1 am 
' mistaken; and suppose we shake hands and be good 
' good friends hereafter." 

"Agreed!" said Mr. Ciay. 

They shook hands accordingly ; and never spoke 
with each other during the residue of the Session. 
It was about the period of Commodore Decatur's 
death. That event greatly excited Mr. Randolph ; 
and Mr. Clay was informed by two different gentle- 
men (the late Governor Edwards and Gen. C. F. 
Mercer) about the same time, without concert, and 
shortly after the interviewdct cribed above, thatlhey 
knew that Mr. Randolph desired a duel, and with 
him (Mr. Clay.) He thanked them for the commu- 
nication ; which was made from friendly motives. 
It naturally put him upon his guard, and on first 
meeting Mr. R., thinking that he saw something un- 
friendly in bis deportment, they passed each other 
without speaking. 

Shortly before the interview above-mentioned, Mr. 
Randolph came to Mr. Clay with an insulting letter 
containing a threat to horsewhip him (Mr. R.) 
and asked what he should do with it — should ho 
communicate it to the House as a breach of privi- 
lege ? "How carne the writer to address such a let- 
ter to you 1 " asked Mr. Clay. " Why, sir," said be. 
" I was in the vestibule of the House the other day, 
and he brought up a man and introduced him tome. 
I asked him, what right he had to introduce that 
man to me, and told him that the man had just as 
much right to introduce him to me. And he s»id he 
thought it was an act of great impertinence. It was 
for that cause he his written me this threatening 
letter." Mr. Clay asked him if he thought the man's 
mind was perfectly sound. " Why," replied Ran- 
dolph, " I have some doubts about that." " If that 
be the case," said Mr. Clay, " would you not better 
avoid troubling the House about the affair? And I 
will give orders to the officers of the House to keep 
an eye on the man, and if he should attempt to io 



Anecdotes of Randolph — Lafayette and Clay. 



33 



anything improper to arrest him." Mr. Randolph 
said, it was perhaps the best course; and nothing 
more was heard of the matter. 

On one occasion during the agitation of this same 
Missouri question, Mr. Randolph told Mr. Clay, that 
he had resolved, by the advice of Chief Justice Mar- 
shall, to abstain from the use of those powerful in- 
struments of irony, sarcasm and invective, which he 
used with such cutting effect, and to confine himself 
to the employment of pure argument, whenever he 
spoke. He attempted it. He failed. His speech 
possessed no attraction — commanded no attention. 
He was mortified, and resumed his ancient style ; 
and listening and admiring audiences returned to 
him. 

When the House sat in what has been called the 
old Capitol (the brick building at the North-East 
corner of the Capitol-square,) Mr. Randolph one day 
came in collision with an able colleague from Vir- 
ginia, Mr. Sheffey, in argument, in the course of 
which Mr. Sheffey had indulged in some playful re- 
mark. Mr. R. replied, and concluded by offering 
him some advice, which he said, he hoped would be 
kindly received : and that was, that logic being 
his (Mr. Sheffey's) forte, he ought to confine him- 
self to it, and never attempt wit, for which lie pos- 
sessed no talent. Mr. Sheffey rejoined, answered 
the argument of Mr. Randolph, thanked him for his 
advice, but said he did not like to be in debt, and by 
way of acquitting himself of it, he begged leave to 
offer some advice in return. Nature, he said, had 
been bountiful to Mr. R. in bestowing on him extra- 
ordinary wit, but had denied him any powers of ar- 
gument. Mr. S. would advise him, therefore, to con- 
fine himself to the regions of wit, and never attempt 
to soar in those of logic. Mr. R. immediately followed 
and handsomely remarked, that he took back what 
he had said of his colleague; for he had shown him- 
self to bo a man of wit as well as of logic. 

It was a pleasant and enlivening incident, and the 
whole House and both parties appeared to enjoy the 
joke. But Mr. Randolph returned to the House the 
next day, and renewed the attack with great bitter- 
ness. The parties had various and long passes at 
each other. Mr. R. was repeatedly called to order 
by Mr. Clay, and finally stopped. Tt was on that oc- 
casion, that Mr. Sheffey being called to order, Mr. 
Clay said that he would be out of order in replying, 
as he was, to any other Member but Mr. Randolph. 

During the interval of his retirement from Con- 
gress in 1822, Mr. Clay was delegated, in conjunc- 
tion with Mr. Bibb, to attend the Virginia Legisla- ! 
ture, for the adjustment of certain land claims in 
Kentucky. Their mission led to the appointment of 
the Hon- B. VV. Leigh on the part of Virginia; and I 
Mr. Clay was subsequently appointed to conduct 
the negociation with him on the part of Kentucky. | 
They concluded at Ashland a convention, which, 
though it was ratified by the Legislature of Kentucky 
and the House of Delegates of Virginia, was finally- 
rejected in the Senate of the latter State. 

By an absence of nearly three years from Con- 
gress, Mr. Clay was enabled through his professional 
labors, to retrieve his private affairs ; and in the sum- 
mer of 1323, at the earnest and repeated solicitations 
of his fellow-citizens, he accepted a re-nomination, 
and was again chosen, without opposition, to repre- 
sent his District in the lower House at Washington. 



The first Session of the Eighteenth Congress 
opened the first Monday in December, 1823. At the 
first ballot for Speaker in the House of Representa- 
tives, Mr. Clay was elected. Mr. Barbour of Vir- 
ginia, the late Speaker, had forty- two votes — Mr. 
Clay had one hundred and thirty nine. The follow- 
ing neat jeu d'csprit appeared in the National Intel- 
ligencer jshortly after the election : 

" As near the Potomac's broad stream, t' other day. 

Fair Liberty strolled in solicitous mood, 
Deep pondering the future! — unheeding her way — 

She met goddess Nature beside a green wood. 
Good mother,' she cried, ' deign to help me at need ! 

I must make fur my guardians a Speaker to-day: 
The first in the world I would give them.' — ' Indeed! 

When I made the first Speaker, I made him ot'CLAY !' " 

On taking the Speaker's chair, Mr. Clay made a 
brief and appropriate address, in which he returned 
his acknowledgments for the honor conferred. The 
duties of a Speaker are happily enumerated in his 
remarks on this occasion. 

On the fifth of December, Mr. Webster, of Massa- 
chusetts, submitted a resolution providing by law 
for defraying the expense incident to the appoint- 
ment of an agent or commissioner to Greece, when- 
ever the President should deem it expedient to make 
such appointment. He supported this proposition 
in a most able speech on the nineteenth of the ensu- 
ing January. Mr. Clay stood side by side with him 
in defence of the measure. Notwithstanding the ad- 
vocacy of these gigantic champions, however, it 
failed in the House. 

Mr. Clay's speech on the subject, though brief, 
was full of fire and point. "Are we," he exclaimed, 
"so humbled, so low, so debased, that we dare not 
' express our sympathy for suffering Greece, that we 
'dare not articulate our detestation of the brutal ex - 
' cesses of which she has been the bleeding victim, 
' lest we might offend come one or more of their itu- 
'perial and royal majesties?" 

" If the great body of Christendom can look on 
calmly and coolly, while all this is perpetrated on 
a Christian people, in its own immediate vicinity, in 
its very presence, let us at least evince that one of 
its remote extremities is susceptible of sensibility to 
Christian wrongs, and capable of sympathy for 
Christian sufferings; that in this remote quarter of 
the world, there are hearts not yet closed against 
compassion for human woes — that can pour out their 
indignant feelings at the oppression of a people en- 
deared to us by every ancient recollection and every 
modern tie. Sir, the committee has been attempted 
to be alarmed by the dangers to our commerce in the 
Mediterranean; and a uretched invoice of fi<r S and 
opium has been spread before us to repress our sen- 
sibilities and eradicate our humanity. Ah! sir, 
' what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul ?' or what shall it avail 
a nation to save the whole of a miserable trade an<l 
lose its liberties ? " 

Although Mr. Clay failed at the moment in pro- 
curing the recognition of Greece, he afterwards when 
Secretary of State accomplished his object. The 
United States was the first Independent Power, by 
whom she was recognized. 

Mr. Clay's labors during the Session of 1824, 
would alone have been sufficient to make his name 
memorable, to the latest posterity, in the annals of 
the country. The Session is signalized by the pas- 
sage of the Tariff bill and of his measure in behalf 
of South American Independence. In reference to 
the former, it should not be forgotten, that it was 
through his vigilant and persevering efforts, that the 



34 



Life of Henry Clay. 



Sugar Duty was saved. By an examination of 
the proceedings of Congress, it will be seen thai 
the fate of this important duty hung upon his indi- 
vidual exertions, and that to them its final preserva- 
tion was due. It was not to the protection of the 
industry of any one section of the country that he 
looked merely. The South and the North have been 
always regarded by him with an equally liberal af- 
fection. 

On the fifteenth of August, 1824, General La Fay- 
ette, the Nation's Guest, arrived at New-York in the 
Cadmus, from Havre, accompanied by his son, 
George Washington La Fayette. The following 
tenth of December he was introduced to the National 
House of Representatives by a Select Committee 
appointed for the purpose. Mr. Clay, as Speaker, re- 
ceived him with an address, so pertinent and elegant 
in its character, that we cannot resist the temptation 
of quoting it entire : 

"General: The House of Representatives of 
the United States, impelled alike by its own feelings 
and by those of the whole American people, could 
not have assigned to me a more gratifying duty than 
that of presenting to you our cordial congratulations 
upon the occasion of your recent arrival in the Uni- 
ted States, in compliance with the wishes of Con- 
gress, and to assure you of the very high satisfaciion 
which your presence affords us on this early theatre 
of your glory and renown. Although but few of the 
members who compose this body shared with you 
in the War of our Revolution, all have, from impar- 
tial history, or from faithful tradition, a knowledge 
of the perils, the sufferings, and the sacrifices which 
vou voluntarily encountered, and the signal services, 
in America and in Europe, which yon performed for 
an infant, a distant, and an alien people ; and all feel 
and own the very great extent of the obligations un- 
der which you have placed our country. But the 
relations in which you have ever stood to the United 
States, interesting and important as they have been, 
do not constitute the only motive of the respect and 
admiration which the House of Representatives en- 
tertain for you. Your consistency of character, your 
uniform devotion to regulated liberty, in all the vi- 
cissitudes of a long and arduous life, also command 
its admiration. During all the recent convulsions 
of Europe, amidst, as after the dispersion of, every 
political storm, the people of the United States have 
beheld you, true to your old principles, firm and 
erect, cheering and animating, with your well-known 
voice, the votaries of liberty, its faithful and fearless 
champion, ready to shed the last drop of that blood 
which here you so freely and nobly spilt in the same 
holy cause. 

"The vain wish has been sometimes indulged, 
that Providence would allow the patriot, after death, 
to return to his country, and to contemplate the in- 
termediate changes which had taken place — to view 
the forests felled, the cities built, the mountains le- 
velled, the canals cut, the highways constructed, the 
proeress of the arts, the advancement of learning, 
and the increase of population. General, your pre- 
sent visit to the United States is a realization of the 
consoling object of that wish. You are in the midst 
of posterity. Every where, you must have been 
struck with the great changes, physical and moral, 
which have occurred since you left us. Even this 
very city, bearing a venerated name, alike endeared 
to you and to us, has since emerged from the forest 
which then covered its site. In one respect you find 
as unaltered, and that is in the sentiment of contin- 
ued devotion to liberty, and of ardent affection and 
profound gratitude to your departed friend, the fa- 
ther of his country, and to you, and to your illustri- 
ous associates in the field and in the cabinet, for the 
multiplied blessings which surround us, and for the 
very privilege of addressing you, which I now ex- 



ercise. This sentiment, now fondly cherished by 
more than ten millions of people will be transmitted, 
with unabated vigor, down the tide of time, through 
the countless millions who are destined to inhabit 
this continent, to the latest posterity." 

Lafayette was deeply affected by this address, ut- 
tered, as it was, in the Speaker's clear, musical and 
genial tones; and the hero of two hemispheres re- 
plied to it in a manner, that betokened much emo- 
tion. He maintained to the last a strong attachment 
for Mr. Clay; and when the miserable party hacks, 
who originated the cry of ' bargain and corruption,' at 
the period of John Quincy Adams's election to the 
Presidency, were actively circulating their base and 
baseless charges against Mr. Clay, the voice of La- 
fayette was heard, high above the clamor, in vindi- 
cation of the unsullied integrity ard honor of hia 
friend. 

An anecdote, illustrative of the high opinion en- 
tertained of him by Lafayette, appeared recently in the 
Commonwealth newspaper, published at Frankfort, 
(Ky.) An officer of the United States Navy, being 
in Paris in 1832, w as entertained by Lafayette at his 
country-seat. During the three days, which the of- 
ficer passed with his venerable host at Lagrange, 
the affairs of the United States and the characteisof 
our distinguished public men formed prominent to- 
pics of discussion. The name of Henry Clay 
could not, of course, be omitted in such a conversa- 
tion ; and the General was delighted to find that bis 
guest was not only a political admirer, but a per- 
sonal friend and acquaintance of the great Ameri- 
can Statesman. On the morning of his departure 
from Lagrange, ihe naval officer was introduced by 
George Washington Lafayette, son of the General, 
into the study of his father, where, by the light of 
candles, he was employing his pen. Pressing his 
guest in vain to remain longer, the General said : 
" Before you leave me. I want to show you our 
'friend;" and leading the way to another room, he 
exhibited a portrait of Mr. Clay. " Sir," said La- 
fayette, "THAT IS THE MAN WHOM I HOPE 
'TO SEE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED 
' STATES." The incident produced a lasting im- 
pression on the mind of the officer. "The bosom- 
' companion of Washington, his comrade in arms in 
'the glorious Revolution, feeling the deepest interest 
'in the welfare of the United States, and well 8C- 
'quainted with their policy, their institutions and 
' their great men, Lafayette, with the wisdom of the 
' Father of his Country, pointed out the man fit and 
' worthy to stand at the head of our Government. 
' But his sainted spirit will look down in M5 and re- 
'joice in the consummation of his hopes, which Hea- 
' ven, impatient to claim one of its first-born, denied 
'him while in the flesh." 

We have seen that Mr. Clay was at variance with 
President Monroe upon the subject of Internal Im- 
provements, as well as in regard to the mode of re- 
cognizing the independence of the South American 
patriots. Notwithstanding these differences of opin- 
ion, the personal relations of the speaker and the 
chief magistrate were friendly. Mr. Clay was offer- 
ed a seat in the cabinet, and a carte blanche of all 
the foreign missions. Had place been his ambition 
and his object, he might have attained it without any 
sacrifice ot independence — without any loss of po- 
sition as the acknowledged head of the great repub- 
lican party. He saw, however, that he could be 



Presidential Election of 1824 — The Kremer Calumny. 



35 



more useful to his country in Congress. Measures 
of vital importance were to be carried. The Tariff 
was to be adjusted — the Missouri business to be set- 
tled — the constitutionality of Internal Improvements 
was to be admitted— South American independence 
was to be acknowledged — how could he conscien- 
tiously quit a post, where he wielded an influence 
more potent than the President's, while such mo- 
mentous questions remained open? These being 
disposed of, he would be at liberty to pursue any 
course which his inclinations might indicate, or 
which the public interests might sanction. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The Presidential Question— Nomination of Mr. Clay— His quali- 
fications set forth— General Har ison in favor of Henry Clay- 
Slanders in the House— Kremer's Letter— Monstrous nature of 
the charges against Mr. C— His course in regard to them— Ap- 
pointment of a Committee of Examination— Complete Re- 
futation of the Calumny— Mr. Clay's Address to his Constitu- 
ents— Election of John Quincy Adams by the House — Exas- 
peration of Gen. Jackson's Friends— Mr. Clay's independence 
of spirit — Motives of his preference — Gen. Lafayette substan- 
tiates his Assertions — Mr. Clay appointed Secretary of State — 
Views of this act— Slander temporary, Justice inevitable — His 
character as Speaker — Anecdotes, &c. 

As Mr. Monroe's second Piesidential term drew 
to a close, the question of the next Presidency be- 
gan to be busily agitated. Four prominent candi- 
dates were presented by their friends for the suffrages 
of the People: being John Quincy Adams of Mas- 
sachusetts, Andrew Jackson of Tennessee, Henry 
Clay of Kentucky, and William H. Crawford of 
Georgia. 

In November, 1822, Mr Clay had been nominated 
as a suitable successor to James Monroe, at a meet- 
ing of the Members of the Legislature of Kentucky. 
The nomination soon after met with a response from 
similar meetings in Louisiana, Missouri and Ohio ; 
and, as the period of the election approached, he was 
hailed by large bodies of his fellow citizens in all 
parts of the country as their favorite candidate. 

The campaign of 1 824 was one of the most warmly 
contested in our annals. Some of the more unscru- 
pulous of the friends of the various candidates re- 
sorted to manoeuvres unworthy of their cause to 
advance their ends. Just as the election was com- 
mencing, a report was industriously circulated in 
different quarters of the country that Mr. Clay had 
withdrawn from the Presidential contest. In conse- 
quence of this report, General William H. Harrison, 
and other of Mr. Clay's friends in Ohio, published a 
declaration, in which it was asserted that he (Mr. 
Clay) " would not be withdrawn from the contest 
' but by the fiat of his Maker." Our late lamented 
Chief Magistrate was at that time, and ever after, 
his devoted political, as well as personal friend ; and 
he has often been heard to declare his preference for 
him over all other candidates. 

Early in the campaign it was discovered that there 
would be no election of President by the People. 
I*y the Constitution, the House of Representatives 
would, therefore, be called upon to choose from the 
three highest candidates. In December, 1824, soon 
ufter the meeting of Congrpss, it was known that 
the three highest candidates were Jackson, Adams 
and Crawford, and that Mr. Clay and his friends 
would have it in their power, when the question 
came before tbe House, of turning the balance in 
favor of any one of the three. 



Mr. Clay's position was now an extremely impor- 
tant one. Several weeks were to intervene before 
the election ; and, in the mean time, the partisans of 
the three candidates looked with intense anxiety to 
the Speaker's course. His preferences were dis- 
tinctly known to his personal friends, for he had 
expressed them in his letters and his conversations; 
but it would have been indelicate and superfluous 
for him to have electioneered in behalf o! any one 
of the rival candidates — to have given occasion for 
intrigues and coalitions by deciding the question in 
advance. 

While all parties were in this state of suspense, a 
gross and unprincipled attempt was made to brow- 
beat Mr. Clay, and drive him from what was rightly 
supposed to be his position of preference for Mr. 
Adams. A letter, the authorship of which was 
afterward avowed by George Kremer, a member of 
the House from Pennsylvania, appeared in a Phila- 
delphia newspaper called the 'Columbian Observer,' 
charging Mr. Clay and his friends with the most 
flagitious intentions — in short, with the design of 
selling their vote to the highest bidder. 

Monstrous as were these intimations, they were 
calculated to carry some weight with the ignorant 
and unreflecting. By such persons, it would not 
be taken into consideration that Mr. Clay had al- 
ready declined offices of the highest grade under 
Madison and Monroe — that, if either Jackson or 
Crawford had been elected through his agency, the 
first office in the gift of either would indubitably 
have been offered to him — that, in accepting office 
under Mr. Adams, it was universally understood at 
Washington he was conferring rather than receiving 
a favor — that he might not inaptly have been accused 
of acting an ungenerous part, if, after bringing the 
Adams Administration into power, he had refused it 
the countenance so essential to its success — that he 
would have neglected the solicitations of all who 
acted with him from the West had he refused the 
Secretaryship — and, in short, that in order to justify 
his vote it was incumbent on him to submit to the 
united voice of the friends of the new Administra- 
tion, and bring to it as much of his Western strength 
as he could lend. 

The ' Columbian Observer,' in which the precious 
epistle we have alluded to appeared, was a print sus- 
tained by Mr. Eaton, the friend, biographer, and col- 
league in the Senate of General Jackson. The 
position of the writer of the letter, as a member of 
Congress, gave it a consequence which, utterly con- 
temptible as it is, it would not otherwise, in any de- 
gree, have possessed. Mr. Clay deemed it incum- 
bent upon him to notice it; and he published a Card 
in the National Intelligencer, pronouncing the author 
of the letter, whoever he might be, " a base and in- 
' famous calumniator." This was answered by a 
Card from Mr. George Kremer, in which the writer 
said he held himself ready to prove, to the satisfac- 
tion of unprejudiced minds, enough to satisfy them 
of the accuracy of the statements in the letter, so far 
as Mr. Clay was concerned. 

The calumny having been thus fathered, Mr. Clay 
ro*e in his place in the House, and demanded an in- 
vestigation into the affair. 

A Committee was accordingly appointed by bal- 
lot on the 5th of February, 1835. It was composed 
of some of the leading members of the House, not 



36 



Life of Henry Clay. 



one of whom was Mr. Clay's political friend. Al- 
though Mr. Kremer had declared to the House and 
to the public his willingness to bring forward his 
proofs, and his readiness to abide the issue of the 
inquiry, his fears, or other counsels than his own, 
prevailed upon him to resort finally to a miserable 
subterfuge. The Committee reported that Mr. 
Kremer declined appearing before them, alleging 
that he could not do so 'without appearing eitiier as 
an accuser or a witness, both of which he pro- 
tested against! " 

And yet this same Mr. Kremer, a day or two be- 
fore, when the subject of appointing an Investigating 
Committee came up, had risen in his seat in the 
House and said :— " If, upon an investigation being 
' instituted, it should appear that he had not suf- 
' ficient reasons to justify the statements he had 
' made, he trusted he should receive the marked 
' reprobation which had been suggested by the 
' Speaker. Let it fall where it might, Mr. K. said, 
1 he teas willing to meet the inquiry, and abide the 
' result.' 1 '' 

But it is not on Mr. Kremer alone that our indig- 
nation should be expended for this miserable attempt 
to bolster up a profligate calumny just long enough 
for it to operate on the approaching Election. He 
was merely a tool in the hands of deeper knaves. 
A thick-headed, illiterate, foolish, good-natured 
man, he was ready, in his blind attachment to Gen. 
Jackson, to do any servile deed that might pro- 
pitiate his idol. He seems to have inwardly re- 
pented of the act as soon as it had been committed. 
He frequently declared his determination to offer an 
explanation and apology to Mr. Clay ; and had gone 
so far as to draw up a paper for this purpose, which 
was submitted to the latter. But Mr. Clay replied 
that the affair had passed from his control into that 
of the House; — and the rogues, who had taken Mr. 
Kremer into their keeping, were careful not to allow 
him to repeat his offer of an apology subsequently 
when the House chose to let the matter drop. 

In 1827-8, Mr. Clay, in an Address to his con- 
stituents, gave a full and interesting history of this 
affair, together with the sequel, at which we shall 
glance in our next Chapter, and in which General 
Jackson figured conspicuously. 

On the 9th of February, 1825, in the presence of 
both Houses of Congress, Mr. Tazewell, from the 
Committee of Tellers, reported the votes of the 
different States for President and Vice President of 
the United States. The aggregate was as follows: 
John Quincy Adams had eighty-four votes; Wil- 
liam H. Crawford, forty-one; Andrew Jackson, 
ninety-nine ; and Henry Clay, thirty-seven,* — the 

* The vote for Mr. Clay in the primary Colleges stood :— Ohio, 
lb'; Kentucky, 14; New -York. 4 ; Missouri, 3. By some party 
chicanery or coalition intrigue, he was defrauded out of Electoral 
Votes in New-York and Louisiana which would have heen more 
than sufficient to have rendered lnrn one of the three candidates 
returned lo the House. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to revive the 
recollection of those frauds upon the People, by which their 
favorite champion was excluded from a position, from which he 
would unquestionably have been elevated to the Presidency. It 
will he seen that Missouri gave her entire Vote to Mr. Clay in 
1824, at which time Thomas H. Benton took the lead in his 
support, as the candidate, must fuvorahle to Internal Improve- 
ments and tli,- Protection of American Industry. The Party 
calling themselves Rucktails, in New-York, were divided be- 
tween Crawford and Clay, the former having the majority. The 
Opposition Party (Clihtonians) were divided between Adams 
and Clay: although by far the larger portion preferred Adams. 
But on a division ( lay had more strength than either of the others 
and, on a fair expression of opinion, would have commanded 
one-half the Electors. 

The Crawford portion of the Bucktail Party was headed by 
Dii. Van Buren,— the portion which favored Mr. Clay was led 



latter having been deprived, by party intrigue 
and chicanery, of the votes of New-York and 
Louisiana — which would have carried him into the 
House, where he would undoubtedly have been 
eiected President, over all other candidates. 

The President of the Senate rose, and declared 
that no person had received a majority of the votes 
given for President of the United States ;— that 
Andrew Jackson, John Q. Adams and William H. 
Crawford were the three persons who had received 
the highest number of votes, and that the remaining 
duties in the choice of a President now devolved on 
the House of Representatives. He farther declared, 
that John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, having 
received one hundred and eighty-two votes, was 
duly elected Vice President of the United States, to 
serve for four years from the ensuing fourth day of 
March. The members of the Senate then retired. 

The Constitution provides, that " from the per- 
' sons having the highest numbers, not exceeding 
' three, on the list voted for as President, the House 
' of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
' ballot, a President." 

The friends of General Jackson now, as a matter 
of conrse, eagerly advanced the doctrine that a 
plurality of votes for any one candidate shonld be 
considered as decisive of the will of the People, and 
should influence the members of the House in their 
votes. As if a mere plurality, forsooth, ought to 
swallow up a majority! A more dangerous doc- 
trine, and one more directly opposed to the spirit of 
the Constitution, could not well be imagined. It 
cannot be called Democratic, for it does not admit 
the prevalence of the will of the majority in the 
Election. ' It was, in fact, a dogma engendered for 
the occasion by the friends of the candidate, who 
happened to come into the House with a plurality 
of votes. 

Mr. Clay was not to be dragooned into the admis- 
sion of any such principle. He resolved to be guid- 
ed by what was plainly the letter and spirit of the 
Constitution, and to give his vote to that man, whom 
he believed to be the most competent to preside over 
the destinies of the Republic. By a personal visit 
to Mr. Crawford he had satisfied himself that that 
gentleman was loo broken down in health to dis- 
charge with fiiting energy the duties of the Chief 
Magistracy. His option lay, therefore, between 
Messrs. Adams and Jackson. 

We have seen what were Mr. Clay's views of the 
character of General Jackson as far back as 1819, 
when the Seminole question was before the House. 
Was it possible that he should regard those traits, 
which, in the soldier, had led to conduct, at war 
with the Constitution, as qualifications in the Pre- 
sident ? General Jackson was, furthermore, under- 

by Mr. Young. To heal this division and give the united 
strength of that. Party to Mr. Crawford, the nomination of Gov- 
ernor was tendered to Mr. Young. He accepted the nomination 
and from that time he and Ins friends abandoned Mr. C. and gav» 
their support to Mr. Crawford. 

But tor this arrangement, it is certain that Mr. Clay would 
have received Electoral Votes enough, from the State of New- 
York, to have carried him into the House with General Jackson 
and Mr. Adams. 

Mr. Clay hail still many friends in the Senate and Assembly. 
who united in supporting a Ticket consisting of twenty-five 
Adams men and eleven Crawford men. Of these, however, it 
was understood that some preferred Mr. Clay, and would cast 
their votes for him, in the event that by so doing he could bo 
brought into the House. But before the vote ot the Electoral 
College was given, the news of the loss of Louisiana was re- 
ceived, which was thought to put an end to the contingency, 
and the Electors friendly to Mr. Clay voted, some for Mr. Craw- 
ford, and some lor Mr. Adams. 



Lafayette's Testimony— Truth Triumphant. 



37 



stood to be hostile to those great systems of Inter- 
nal Improvement and protection to home manufac- 
tures, which Mr. Clay had spent the best part. of his 
public life in establishing. At least, the General's 
views were vacillating and undecided on these points. 
Could Mr. Clay be called upon to sacrifice those 
important interests on the shrine of merely sectional 
partiality— for the sake of having a Western rather 
than an Eastern man to preside over the Union ? 

No ! Henry Clay was not to be influenced by such 
narrowand unworthy considerations. He has himself 
said : " Had I voted for General Jackson in oppo- 
' sition to the well known opinions which I enter- 
' tained of him, one-tenth part of the ingenuity and 
'zeal which have been employed to excite preju- 
' dices against me, would have held me up to uni- 
versal contempt ; and, what would have been 
' worse, I should have felt that I really deserved it." 
According to the testimony of his friend, Gen. Call, 
Gen. Jackson himself never expected that he would 
receive the vote of Mr. Clay. 

With Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay had always been on 
amicable if not on intimate terms. At Ghent, they 
had differed on a question of public policy, but they 
both 'had too much liberality of soul to make their 
dissimilarity of opinion a cause of personal displea- 
sure and variance. The Speaker saw in Mr. Adams, 
a statesman highly gifted, profoundly learned, and 
long and greatly experienced in public affairs at home 
and abroad. 

How could he in conscience hesitate when the 
choice lay between two such men ? He did not he- 
sitate. He had never hesitated. Long before he 
left Kentucky, according to the testimony of the 
Hon. John J. Crittenden, six of the Kentucky dele- 
gation in Congress, and some hundreds of respecta- 
ble citizens, Mr. Clay declared that he could not 
imagine the contingency in which he would vote for 
General Jackson. A still more important witness, 
in the person of the great and good Lafayette, came 
forward to testify in Mr. Clay's behalf, as the fol- 
lowing extract from his letter to Mr. Clay will show : 

" My remembrance concurs with your own on this 
point: that in the latter end of December either be- 
fore or after my visit to Annapolis, you being out of 
the presidential candidature, and after having ex- 
pressed my above-mentioned motives of forbearance, 
J, by way of confidential exception, allowed myself 
to put a simple, unqualified question, respecting 
your electioneering guess, and your intended vote. 
Vour answer was, that in your opinion, the actual 
stale of health of Mr. Crairford had limited the con- 
test to a choice between Mr. Adams and General 
Jackson; that a claim founded on military achieve- 
ments did not meet your preference, and that you 

HAD CONCLUDED TO VOTE FOR Mr. ADAMS." 

Notwithstanding the flagitious attempt to influ- 
ence his vote, Mr. Clay unhesitatingly gave it for 
Mr. Adams, and decided the election in his favor. 
lie went further. When, after he was seated in the 
I'residential Chair, Mr. Adams offered him the Sec- 
retaryship of State, he had the moral courage to ac- 
cept it in defiance of the storm of calumny, exasper- 
ation and malignant opposition, which he knew that 
act would bring down upon him. 

This was a critical period in Mr. Clay's public 
life — a bold, intrepid and magnanimous movement. 
We know that he now thinks it was a mistaken one. 
In his speech of the 9th of June, 1842, at Lexington, 
he says : " My error in accepting the offi e arone 



' out of my underrating- the power of detraction and 
' the force of ignorance, and abiding with too sure a 
'confidence in the conscious integrity and npright- 
' ness of my own motives. Of that ignorance, I had 
'a remarkable and laughable example on an bcca- 
'sion which I will relate. I was travelling, in 1828, 
' through, I believe it was, Spottsylvania in Virgin-! 
' ia, on my return to Washington, in company with 
' some young friends. We halted at night at a tavei n, 
'kept by an aged gentleman, who, I quickly per- 
' ceived, from the disorder and confusion which reign- 
'ed, had not the happinesss to have a wife. After 
' a hurried and bad supper, the old gentleman ;-at 
1 down by me, and without hearing my name, but 
'understanding that I was from Kentucky, remarked 
' that he had four sons in that State, and that he was 
' very sorry they were divided in politics, two being 
' for Adams and two for Jarkson; he wished they 
'were all for Jackson. Why? I asked him. Be- 
' cause, he said, that fellow Clay, and Adams, had 
cheated Jackson out of the Presidency. Have you 
'ever seen any evidence, my old friend, said I, of 
' that? No, he replied none, and he wanted to see 
'none. But, I observed, looking him directly and 
' steadily in the face, suppose 31r. Clay were to 
'come here and assure you, upon his honor, that it 
' was all a vile calumny, and not a word of truth in 
'it, would you believe him? No, replied the old 
' gentleman promptly and emphatically. I said to 
'him, in conclusion, will you be good enough to 
' show me to bed, and bade him good night. The 
' next morning, having in the interval learnt my 
' name, he came to me full of apologies, but I at 
'once put him at his ease by assuring him that I 
'did not feel in the slightest degree hurt or offended 
' with him." 

With deference,- we must express our dissent from 
Mr. Clay in regarding his acceptance of office under 
Mr. Adams as an " error." It may have been, so 
far as his personal interests were concerned, erro- 
neous, and impolitic ; but, in reference to his public 
duties, it was right; it was honest; it was courage- 
ous. Both Madison and Monroe had offered him 
the highest offices in their gift; but the country was 
at those times in such a state, that he thought he 
could make himself more useful in Congress; and 
he refused tnem. None but the ignorant and base- 
minded could credit the monstrous assertion, that he 
had made the promise of the Secretaryship the con- 
dition of giving his vote for Mr. Adams. 

Mr. Clay may have been temporarily injured by 
the wretched slander ; and it will be seen, as we ad- 
vance in his biography, that after it had been drop- 
ped by Kremer, it was revived by General Jackson. 
But we do not believe that there is at this time a 
single person of moderate intelligence in the coun- 
try, who attaches the least credit to the story, tho- 
roughly exploded as it has been by the most abun- 
dant and triumphant testimony. 

It is, therefore, because we have faith in the ul- 
timate prevalence of truth, that we do not think Mr. 
Clay was in error, when he so far defied his tradu- 
cers as to accept the very office which they had 
previously accused him of bargaining for. The 
clouds which for the moment hide Truth from our 
siebt only make her shine the brighter when they 
are dissipated. In the words of Spenser: 



38 



Life of Henry Clay. 



" It often fulls in course of common life, 
Thut Right long time is overborne of YVrong, 
Thro' avarice, or power, or guile, or strife ; 
But Justice, though her doom she do prolong. 
Yet at the last she will her own cause right?' 

Mr. Clay may still abide, " with a sure confidence, 
in the conscious integrity and uprightness of his 
own motives." Slander has done her worst. Ne- 
ver before, in the history of our government, was a 
public man so bitterly assailed by every weapon 
and engine that unprincipled detraction and malig- 
nant party hostility could invent. For years, the 
opposition, in the face of the most decided and com- 
plete refutations of the calumny— "and notwithstand- 
ing the original inventors had themselves confessed 
its falsity— continued to thrust it before the public, 
until, at length, they could find none so mean and 
ignorant to credit it. The natural reaction has ta- 
ken place ; and every honest heart now visits with 
indignation any attempt to resuscitate the crushed 
and obscene lie. Mr. Clay's reputation has come 
forth whiter and purer from the ordeal. The " most 
fine gold" is all the more bright because of those 
who would have dimmed its lustre. The stream of 
time u fast bearing down to oblivion the frail and 
unfounded falsehoods of his enemies ; but the pil- 
lars of his renown, based as they are upon inesti- 
mable public services, remain unshaken and unim- 
paired. 

Mr. Clay entered upon the duties of his new post 
in March, 1825. In him the House of Representa- 
tives lost the ablest and most efficient speaker that 
had ever graced the chair. The best proof of his 
popularity may be found in the eloquent fact, that 
from the time of his first entry into the House in 1811 
to 1825, with the exception of two years when he was 
voluntarily absent, he was chosen to preside over 
their deliberations almost without opposition. The 
period of his Speakership will always be regarded 
as an epoch in the history of our Federal Legisla- 
ture. Perhaps the most remarkable characteristic 
of his Presidency over the House, was his perfect— 
his unimpeachable impartiality. Both foes and 
friends bore testimony to this trait without a dis- 
senting voice. Strong as were his party feelings, 
they never could induce him, even in the very tem- 
pest and whirlwind of debate, to treat an opponent 
with unfairness or undue neglect. His decisions 
were always prompt, yet never so hasty as to be re- 
versed by "the House. Notwithstanding the many 
momentous and agitating questions which were dis- 
cussed while he occupied the chair, he was never 
known to lose his self-possession, or to fail in pre- 
serving the dignity of his position. 

During the long period of his service (some twelve 
or thirteen years) in the chair, such was the confi- 
dence reposed in his impartiality and the rectitude 
of his judgment, that appeals were rarely taken 
from his decision— during the last years of his in- 
cumbency, scarcely one. 

It was under Mr. Clay's administration of the 
duties of the chair, that the present use of the pre- 
vious question in terminating debate was establish- 
ed. In England it is employed to put by or post- 
pone a subject which it is deemed improper to de- 
bate ; and then, when the House of Commons do 
not choose, to hear an unacceptable debater, he is si- 
lenced by being shuffled or coughed down. Cer- 
tainly it is more orderly, and less invidious, for the 



House itself to determine when a subject shall be 
put to the question and all debate upon it stopped. 
And every deliberative body ought necessarily to 
possess the power of deciding when it will ex- 
press its judgment or opinion upon any proposi- 
tion before it, and, consequently, when debate shall 
close. 

It has been seen, that Mr. Clay's presiding in the 
chair did not prevent his taking an active and lead- 
ing part in all the great measures that came before 
the House in committee of the whole. His spirits 
were always buoyant, and his manner in debate ge- 
nerally animated, and sometimes vehement. But 
he never carried from the floor to the chair the ex- 
cited feelings arising in debate. There he was still 
composed, dignified, authoritative, but perfectly 
impartial. His administration of its duties com- 
manded the undivided praise of all parties. 

Uniformly cheerful when on the floor, he sometimes 
indulged in repartee. The late General Alexan- 
der Smyth of Virginia, a man of ability and re- 
search, was an excessively tedious speaker, worry- 
ing the House and prolonging his speeches by nu- 
merous quotations. On one of these occasions, when 
he bad been more than ordinarily tiresome, while 
hunting up an authority, he observed to Mr. Clay, 
who was sitting near him, "you, sir, speak for the 
present generation; but I speak for posterity." — 
" Yes," said Mr. Clay, ' : and you seem resolved to 
speak until the arrival of your audience !" 

The late Governor Lincoln of Maine was a gentle- 
man of fine feelings, eloquent, but declamatory. On 
one occasion, when addressing the House of Repre- 
sentatives, of which he was a member, on the Re- 
volutionary Pension Bill, in answer to an argument 
that it would be a serious charge upon the Treasu- 
ry of long continuance, as many of the officers and 
soldiers would live a great while, he burst out into 
the patriotic exclamation, " Soldiers of the Revolu- 
tion, live for ever!" Mr. Clay followed him, incul- 
cating moderation, and concluded by turning to Mr. 
Lincoln, with an arch smile, and observing, " I hope 
my worthy friend will not insist upon the very great 
duration of these pensions, which he has suggested. 
Will he not consent, by way of a compromise, to a 
term of 999 years instead of eternity ?" 



CHAPTER IX. 



Account of Mr. Clay's Intercourse with General Jackson— Bev- 
erley Carter's Letter— General Jackson the Accuser ot Mr. 
Clay— Mr. Buchanan— Final Refutation of the blander— Mr. 
Adams's Testimony— Repeated more strongly in ]84,i— Oppo- 
sition to Mr. Adams's Administration— Its Character— J' tin 
Randolph's Assaults— His Duel with Mr. Clay— Last Inter- 
view with Mr. Clay in 1833— Impaired state of Mr. (lays 
Health— Qualifications for the Secretaryship— The Panama 
Instructions— Objects proposed in the Panama Congress— Mr. 
Clay's Letter to Mr. Middleton— His Negotiations while Sec- 
retary of State— Treaties— Documents trom his pen— Policy of 
Mr. Adams's Administration— Coalition of the Opposition— 
Their Consistency— The Colonial Bill — Mr. Van Ruren — 
Modes of Attack— Federalism and Democracy— Jacksrnism 
and Federalism Identified — Presidential Election ot JS-H— 
Choice of Andrew Jackson— Economy under Adams, Jack- 
son, and Van Ruren— Mr. Clay's views toward the new Ad- 
ministration— lie leaves Washington— Cross attempt to injure 
his privute credit— His Letter to R. W ickhtfe, Esq. 

Mr. Clay has himself given to the public a his- 
tory of his intercourse with General Jackson. It 
may be found in his speech of 1838 in the Senute ou 
the Sub-Treasury, Scheme. 

« My acquaintance/ 1 he says, " with that extra. 



Annihilation of the Charge made by Gen. Jackson. 



39 



ordinary man commenced in this city, in the Fall of 
1815 or 1816. It was short, hut highly respectful 
and mutually cordial. I beheld in him the gallant 
and successful General, who, by the glorious vic- 
tory of New-Orleans, had honorably closed the sec- 
ond War of our Independence, and I paid him the 
homage due for that eminent service. A few years 
after, it became my painful duty to animadvert, in 
the House of Representatives, with the indepen- 
dence which belongs to the Representative charac 
ter, upon some of his proceedings in the conduct of 
the Seminole War, which 1 thought illegal and con- 
trary to the Constitution and the law of Nations A 
non intercourse between us ensued, which continued 
until the Fall of 1824, when, he being a member of 
the Senate, an accommodation between - us was 
sought to be brought about by the principal part of 
the delegation from his own State. For that pur- 
pose, we were invited to dine with them at Clax- 
ton's boarding-house on Capitol Hdl, where my 
venerable friend from Tennessee (Mr. White) and 
his colleague on the Spanish Commission, were both 
present. I retired early from dinner, and was fol- 
lowed to the door by General Jackson and the pre- 
sent Minister of the United States at the Court of 
Madrid ( Vlr. Eaton.) They pressed me earnestly to 
take a seat with them in their carriage. My faithful 
servant and friend, Charles, was standing at the door 
waiting for me with my own. 1 yielded to their ur- 
gent politeness, directed Charles to follow with my 
carriage, and they sat me down by my own door. 
We alterward frequently met, with mutual respect 
and cordiality : dined several times together, and 
reciprocated the hospitality of our respective quar- 
ters. This friendly intercourse continued until the 
election, in the House of Representatives, of a Pre- 
sident of the United States, came on in February, 
1825. I gave the vote which, in the contingency 
that happened, I told my colleague, (Mr. Critten- 
den,) who sits before me, prior to iny departure from 
Kentucky, in November, 1824, and told others, that 
I should give. All intercourse ceased between Gen- 
eral J-ickson and myself. We have never since, ex- 
cept once accidentally, exchanged salutations, nor 
met, except on occasions when we were performing 
the last offices toward deceased members of Con- 
gress, or other officers of Government. Immediate- 
ly after my vote, a rancorous war was commenced 
against me, and all the barking dogs let loose upon 
me. I shall not trace it during its ten years' bitter 
continuance. But I thank my God that I stand here, 
firm and erect, unbent, unbroken, unsubdued, un- 
awed, and ready to denounce the mischievous mea- 
sures of this Administration, and ready to denounce 
this, its legitimate offspring, the most pernicious of 
all." 

Directly after the adjournment of the 19th Con- 
gress, a letter, dated March 8, 1825, appeared in the 
newspapers, purporting to relate a conversation of 
the writer with General Jackson, in which the lat- 
ter said that Mr. Clay's friends in Congress pro- 
posed to his friends (Gen. J.'s) that if they would 
promise for him, that Mr. Adams should not be con- 
tinued as Secretary of State, Mr. Clay and his 
friends would at once elect General Jackson Presi- 
dent; and that he (Gen. Jackson) indignantly re- 
jected the proposition. Mr. Carter Beverly, the au 
thor of this letter, wrote to Gen. Jackson, soon after 
its appearance, for a confirmation of its statements. 

General Jackson replied, in a letter dated June 5, 
1827 — more than two years after the charge was first 
made ; — hut just in season to operate upon approach- 
ing elections; and, in his reply, directly charged the 
friends of Mr. Clay with having proposed to him, 
(Jackson,) through a distinguished Member of Con- 
gress., to vote for him, in case he would declare that 



Mr. Adams should not be continued as Secretary of 
State; and insinuated that this proposition was made 
by authority of Mr. Clay; and to strengthen that 
insinuation, asserted that immediately after the re- 
jection of the proposition, Mr. Clay came out openly 
for Mr. Adams. 

To this proposition, according to his own account, 
General Jackson returned for answer, that before he 
would reach the Presidential Chair by such meana 
of bargain and corruption, " he would see the earth 
open, and swallow both Mr. Clay and his friends 
and himself with them !" — a reply, which was no 
doubt literally true inasmuch as " such means " 
could never have been used to elevate the Hero of 
New-Orleans to the Presidency. 

General Jackson gave up the name of Mr. Bu- 
chanan of Pennsylvania as " the distinguished Mem- 
ber of Congress," to whom he had alluded in his 
letter to Mr. Beverly. Mr. Buchanan being thus 
involved in the controversy, although a personal and 
political friend of General Jackson, made a state- 
ment which entirely exculpated Mr. Clay and hia 
friends from all participafion in the alleged proposi- 
tion. He stated, that in the month of December, a 
rumor was in circulation at Washington, that Gen. 
Jackson intended, if elected, to keep Mr. Adams in 
as Secretary of State. Believing that such a belief 
would cool his friends and inspire his opponents 
with confidence, and being a supporter of General 
Jackson himself, he thought that the General ought 
to contradict the report. He accordingly called on 
him, and made known his views ; to which General 
Jackson replied, that though he thought well of Mr. 
Adams, he had never said or intimated, that he 
would or would not, appoint him Secretary of Slate. 
Mr. Buchanan then asked permission to repeat this 
answer to any person he thought proper, which waa 
granted, and here the conversation ended. And out 
of such flimsy materials had General Jackson con- 
structed his rancorous charge against Mr. Clay ! 

Mr. Buchanan further stated, that he called on 
General Jackson solely as his friend, and upon his 
own responsibility, and not as an agent for Mr. Clay, 
or any other person ; that he had never been a 
friend of Mr. Clay during the Presidential contest; 
and that lie had not the most distant idea that Gen. 
Jackson believed, or suspected that he came on be- 
half of Mr. Clay, or of his friends, unlit the publi- 
cation of the letter, tnaking that, accusation. 

Notwithstanding all grounds for the charge 
were thus annihilated by the testimony of the " dis- 
tinguished Member of Congress" — himself a warm 
partizan of General Jackson — the asinine cry of 
bargain and corruption was still kept up by the op- 
ponents of the Administration ; and the most auda- 
cious assertions were substituted for proofs. 

At length, although not the slightest shadow of 
anything resembling evidence had been produced in 
support of the calumny, a body of testimony per* 
fectly overwhelming was produced against it. A 
Circular Letter was addressed to the Western Mem- 
bers (for they alone were accused of being impli- 
cated in the alleged transaction) who voied for Mr. 
Adams in the election by Congress in 1825, request- 
ing to know whether there was any foundation for 
the charge in the letter of General Jackpon. 

They sill (with the exception of Mr. Cook, who 
was dead) utterly disclaimed the knowledge of any 



40 



Life of Henry Clay 



proposition made by Mr. Clay, or his friends, to 
General Jackson, or to any other person ; and also 
explicitly disclaimed any negotiation with respect 
to their votes on that occasion. On the contrary, 
the members from Ohio stated that they had deter- 
mined upon voting for Mr. Adams previous to their 
being informed of Mr. Clay's intention, and with- 
out having ascertained his views. 

The members from Kentucky, who voted with 
Mr. Clay, expressed their ignorance of conditions of 
any sort having been offered by his friends to any 
person, on compliance with which their vote was 
to depend. 

The members from Louisiana and Missouri, coin- 
cided in these declarations, and they all professed 
their belief in the falsehood of the charges against 
Mr. Clay, on account of his conduct on that occasion. 

In addition to this testimony, letters were pro- 
duced from well known individuals, satisfactorily 
establishing the fact that Mr. Clay, previous to his 
leaving his residence in Kentucky for Washington, 
in the Fall of 1824, repeatedly made declarations of 
his preference for Mr. Adams over General Jack- 
son, through the months of October, November, De- 
cember and January following, until he executed 
that intention on the 9th of Febuary, 1825, in the 
House of Representatives. We have already quo- 
ted from General Lafayette's letter to Mr. Clay a 
passage confirming this ample testimony. 

Sucli a mass of evidence effectually crushed the 
accusation respecting a bargain, and convinced the 
public, that in voting for Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay and 
his friends conscientiously discharged their duty ; 
and that they could not have voted otherwise without 
palpable inconsistency. 

When, on the occasion of his speech of June, 1842, 
at Lexington, Mr. Clay alluded to this calumny, of 
which we have given a brief history, somebody cried 
out, that Mr. Carter Beverly, who had been made 
the organ of announcing it, had recently borne testi- 
mony to its being unfounded. Mr. Clay said it was 
true that he had voluntarily borne such testimony. 
But, with great earnestness and emphasis, Mr. Clay 
said, / want no testimony ; here — here — HERE — 
(repeatedly touching his heart, amid tremendous 
cheers) — here is the best of all witnesses of my in- 
nocence. 

Soon after the close of his administration, Mr. Ad- 
ams, in reply to an address from a committee of gen- 
tlemen in New Jersey, spoke in the following terms 
of Mr. Clay: 

'• Upon him (Mr. Clay) the foulest slanders have 
been showered. Long known and appreciated, as 
successively a Member of both Houses of your Na- 
tional Legislature, as the unrivalled Speaker, and, 
at the same time, most efficient leader of debates in 
one of them ; as as able and successful negotiator for 
your interests in war and peace, with foreign powers, 
and as a powerful candidate for the highest of your 
trusts — the Department of State itself was a station, 
which, by its bcstoical, could confer neither profit 
nor honor upon him, hut upon which he has shed 
unfading honor, by the manner in which he has dis- 
charged its duties. Prejudice and passion have 
charged him with obtaining that office by bargain 
and corruption. Before you, my felloie-cilizens, in 
tlie presence of our country anil Heaven, I pro- 
nounce that charge totally unfounded. This tribute 
of justice is due from me to him, and I seize, with 
pleasure, the opportunity afforded me by your letter, 
of discharging tho obligation. 



"As to my motives for tendering to him the De- 
partment of State when I did, let that man who ques- 
tions them come forward. Let him look around 
among Statesmen and Legislators of this Nation and 
of that day. Let him then select and name the man 
whom, by his pre-eminent talents, by his splendid 
services, by his ardent patriotism, by his all-embra- 
cing public spirit, by his fervid eloquence in behalf 
of the rights and liberties ot mankind, by his long 
experience in the affnirsofthe Union, foreign and 
domestic, a President of the United States, intent 
only upon the honor and welfare of his country, ought 
to have preferred to Henry Clay. Let him name 
the man, and then judge you, my fellow-citizens, of 
my motives." 

During his visit to the West in the fall of 1843, 
Mr. Adams confirmed this denial in the strongest 
terms, which it is possible for the human tongue to 
employ. 

" I thank you, sir," said he, in his speech at Mays- 
ville, (Ky.) " for the opportunity you have given me 
' of speaking of the great Statesman who was asso- 
' ciated with me in the administration of the General 
' Government, at my earnest solicitation — who be- 
' longs not to Kentucky alone, but to the whole Un- 
' ion; and is not only an honor to this State and this 
' Nation, but to mankind. The charges to which you 
' refer, I have, after my term of service had expired, 
' and it was proper for me to speak, denied before 
' the whole country ; and I here reiterate and reaf- 
' firm that denial ; and as I expect shortly to appear 
' before my God, to answer for the conduct of my 
' whole life, should those charges have found their 
' icay to the Throne of Eternal Justice, 1 will, in 
'the presence of Omnipotence, prOiNOUnce 
'them false." 

In his address at Covington. (Ky.) Mr. Adam8 
said, in allusion to the hospitalities, which he had 
met with: "Not only have I received invitations 
' from public bodies and cities, hut also from indivi- 
' duals, among the first of whom was that great man, 
' your own citizen, who, during a very large portion 
'of my public life, and in various public capacities, 
' and in several instances in matters relating to your 
' interests, has been my associate and friend, and the 
' recollection of whom, brings me to the acknowledg- 
' ment, before this whole assembly, that in all the 
'various capacities in which I have known him to 
' act, whether as associate, as assistant, or acting in- 
' dependency of me, in his own individual character 
' and capacity, I have ever found him not only one of 
' the ablest men with whom I have ever co-operated, 
' but also of the most amiable and worthy."* 

We have but imperfectly sketched tlie history of 
the flagitious measures which were adonted to blast 

* Mr. Adams, of whom it may be said, " age cannot mar, nor 
custom stale his infinite variety," stil! retains his exalted estimate 
of Mr. Clay's talent and patriotism, and is his ardent supporter 
for the Presidency. A correspondent of tlie Newark Daily Ad- 
vertiser says : 

" I have frequently observed ladies' albums circulating through 
the House and Senate Chamber, with the view of collecting the 
autographs of the Members. One this morning, belonging to a 
young lady of — *-, attracted considerable attention. Upon ex- 
amination, I foundit contained a page of well written poetry, 
dated 23d July, 1842, in the tremulous hand-writing of John (i. 
Adams. This piece was descriptive of the wild chaos at present 
spread over our political affairs, and anticipated coming events 
which would bring order out of disorder. Theclosiug verse was 
as follows : 

Say, for whose brow this laurel crown ? 

For whom this web of life is spinning ? 
Turn this, thy Album, upside down, 

And take the end for tlie beginning.' 

"The meaninL' i f this was somewhat mystical, but by turning 
to the back of the book, and inverting it, on its lust page apiece 
was found with the signature of H. Clay ! " 



Opposition to Mr. Adams's Administration — Mr. Clay's Labors as Secretary of State. 41 



the political reputation of Mr. Clav and break down 
the Administration, of which he was the main orna- 
ment and support. To the future historian we leave 
the task of commenting, in adequate terms of repro- 
bation, upon the conduct of those unprincipled men 
who originated the slander, and continued to circu- 
late it long after it had been proved to be utterly 
ungrounded. That it answered the purpose for 
which it was intended; that it was the most efficient 
instrument employed to trammel and defeat Mr. 
Adams's Administration there can now be little 
doubt. The recklessness and audacity with which 
it was persisted in until it had served its end, — the 
conduct of Mr. Kremer, as he vacillated between 
bis good impulses and the party ties by which he 
was fettered, — and subsequent developments, still 
fresh in the remembrance of many of our readers, 
showed that the promulgation of the calumny was 
the result of a regularly planned conspiracy. 

We refer those who would satisfy themselves of 
this fact, as well as of the sufficiency of the proofs 
by which this ' measureless lie ' was overwhelmed, 
to the proceedings in the House of Representatives, 
instituted at Mr. Clay's instance in February, 1825 ; — 
to the subsequent letter of Carter Beverley, detailing 
a conversation at General Jackson's; — to Mr. Clay's 
Letter to the Public, challenging his enemy to pro- 
duce his testimony; — to Gen. Jackson's surrender 
of the name of Mr. Buchanan as the "distinguished 
Member of Congress " upon whose authority the 
charge of corruption was reiterated against Mr. 
Clay; — to Mr. Buchanan's complete and decided 
disclaimation of any intention on his part of ever 
giving countenance to the charge ; — to Mr. Clay's 
pamphlets, published in 1827-8, embodying a mass 
of testimony disproving the charge; — to Mr. Bucha- 
nan's statements on the floor of the House of Repre- 
sentatives and the Senate, avowing his disbelief of 
the charge ; — and finally to Carter Beverley's letter, 
published in 1841, repudiating the calumny as desti- 
tute of the slightest foundation in truth, and making 
such atonement as he could for having given cur- 
rency to it in his letter of 1325.* 

A review of these transactions cannot fail to 
arouse popular indignation, on account of the per- 
secutions to which Mr. Clay was subjected in con- 
sequence of the calumny, and to react its authors 
and propagators. That the most satisfactory ev- 
dence of the reality of such a reaction will be 
given in the Presidential Election of 1844, we do not 
entertain the shadow of a lingering doubt. 

Rarely has an Administration been subjected to 
an opposition so unrelenting, so vindictive and so 
determined as that which assailed the Presidency of 
John Quincy Adams. The motives of that opposi- 
tion appear to have been, purely selfish and merce- 
nary ; for the policy of Mr. Adams resembled that 
of his predecessor, whose Secretary of State he had 
been, and it was little calculated to call down a viru- 
lent hostility. In his views of the powers of the 
General Government he was more liberal than Mr. 
Monroe. He was friendly to the American System 
of Internal Improvement and Protection, which had 
been so ably vindicated by Mr. Clay ; and all his 

* All these documents may be found in Niles's Register. We 
regret that our limits will not permit us to expose, in its full de- 
formity, the whole of this nefarious plot against Mr. Clay. That 
man must presume greatly upon the ignorance of the Public, 
however, who would at this day venture to revive the extinct lie. 



measures were conceived in a truly generous, re- 
publican and patriotic spirit. 

A great clamor was most unjustly raised about 
the expenses of his Administration. At this day the 
iniquity of this charge is so apparent as to render it 
unworthy a serious confutation. It becomes in- 
deed laughable when placed side by side with the 
list of Presidential expenditures under Mr. Van Bu- 
ren. In the distribution of his official patronage Mr. 
Adams appears to have been actuated by the purest 
and most honorable motives. Not a single removal 
from office on political grounds was made by his 
authority; and in no one instance does he seem to 
have been impelled by considerations of self-inter- 
est or with a view to ultimate personal advantage. 

The circumstances under which he came into of- 
fice, however, were a continual source of uneasi- 
ness to the friends of Jackson and Crawford ; and 
his Administration, able and honorable to the coun- 
try as it was, was constantly assailed. John Ran- 
dolph, who had now a seat in the Senate, was espe- 
cially bitter and personal in his denunciations. The 
eccentricities of that extraordinary man induced 
many persons to believe that he was partially de- 
ranged in his intellect. His long, desultory and 
immethodical harangues were a serious impediment 
to legislative business, while his elfish taunts and 
reckless assaults upon individuals were so frequent, 
that he seemed at length to have arrived at the con- 
clusion that he enjoyed superior immunities in de- 
bate — that he was, in fact, " a chartered libertine." 
In one of the numerous discussions upon the Pana- 
ma Mission, he took occasion to animadvert in the 
most offensive manner upon the conduct of Mr. Clay, 
and denounced the harmony existing between the 
Secretary of State and the President as a " coali- 
tior of Blifil and Black George ;" a combination of 
" the Puritan with the Black-leg." 

When called upon by Mr. Ciay to explain or re- 
tract these expressions, he refused. A hostile meet- 
ing consequently ensued between them on the 8th 
of April, 1826. After two ineffectual fires it result- 
ed in the reconciliation of the parties — John Ran- 
dolph having given additional evidence, by his con- 
duct and appearance on the occasion, that his eccen- 
tricity, if it did not border on insanity, was separa- 
ted from it by a very slight partition. 

The last interview between Mr. Clay and Mr. 
Randolph was on the 2d or 3d of March, 1833, a 
few weeks before Mr. R's death, when he was on 
his way to Philadelphia, where he died. He came 
to the Senate Chamber, unable to stand or walk 
without assistance. The Senate was in session by 
candle-light, and Mr. Clay had risen to make some 
observations on the Compromise Act. " Help me 
up," said Mr. Randolph, sitting in a chair, and 
addressing his half-brother, Mr. B. Tucker ; " 1 
have come here to hear that, voice." As soon as 
Mr. Clay had concluded his remarks, he went to 
Mr. Randolph, and they cordially shook hands and 
exchanged salutations. 

The health of Mr. Clay during the whole period 
of his residence at Washington, as Secretary of 
State, was exceedingly unfavorable — so much so, 
that at one time he had fully dttermined to resign 
the office. He was persuaded, however, to remain ; 
ana, notwithstanding the depressing influence upon 
mental and physical exertion of bodily infirmi- 



42 



Life of Henry Clay. 



ty, he discharged the complicate and laborious duties 
of the Secretaryship wiih a fidelity and efficiency 
that have never been surpassed. In the records of 
his labors, in his instructions to Ministers, and his nu- 
merous letters upon subjects of foreign and domes- 
tic concern, the archives of the State Department 
contain a lasting monument to his transcendent 
abilities as a statesman and his indefatigability as a 
public officer. 

One of the ablest state papers in the diplomatic 
annals of the United States is the letter of instruc- 
tions of Mr. Clay to the Delegation to Panama. The 
story of this Mission may be briefly told. A Con- 
.gress was proposed to be held at Panama or Tacu- 
baya, to be composed of Delegates from the Repub- 
lics of Mexico, Colombia and Central America, to 
deliberate on subjects of importance to all, and in 
which the welfare and interest of all might be in- 
volved. The threatening aspect of the Holy Alli- 
ance towards the free Governments of the new world 
had induced the late President, Monroe, to declare 
that the United States would not view with indif- 
ference any interference on their part in the contest 
between Spun and her foimer Colonies; and the 
Governments of the new Republics were naturally 
led to suppose that our own was friendly to the ob- 
jects propo.-ed in the contemplated Congress. In 
the Spring of 1825, invitations were given on the 
part of Colombia, Mexico and Central America to 
the United States to send Commissioners to Pa- 
nama. 

In reply to this proposition, coming from the Min- 
isters of those powers at Washington, Mr. Clay 
said, that before such a Congress met, it appeared 
to him expedient to adjust, as preliminary matters, 
the precise objects to which the attention of the 
Congress would be directed, and the substance and 
the form of the powers of the Ministers representing 
the several Republics. This suggestion called forth 
answers, which were not considered as sufficiently 
precise; but still to manifest the sensibility of the 
United States to what concerned the welfare of Ame- 
rica, and to the friendly feelings of the Spanish Ame- 
rican States, the President determined to accept 
their invitations, and to send Ministers with the con- 
sent of the Senate. 

In March, 1829, a call having been made in the 
Senate for copies of the instructions given to our 
Ministers at Panama, Mr. Adams transmitted them; 
and they were soon afterwards published, notwith- 
standing a rancorous attempt on the part of the op- 
position to prevent their appearance ; so creditable 
were they to the Administration that was going out 
of power, and to Mr. Clay, their author; and so 
completely did they refute the slanders, which had 
been propagated in connection with the Mission. 
Few state papers in the archives of the Govern- 
ment will compare, in point of ability, with this let- 
ter of instructions of Mr. Clay. It was, perhaps, 
the most elaborate paper prepared by him whilst in 
the Department of State. The liberal principles of 
commerce and navigation, which it proposed ; the 
securities for neutral and mariime rights, which it 
sought; the whole system of international and Ame- 
rican policy, which it aimed to establish ; and the 
preparatory measures, which it recommended, for 
uniting the two Oceans by a Canal, constitute i 



one of the boldest, most original, comprehensive and 
statesman-like documents on record. 

Another masterly paper from the pen of Mr Clay 
is his letter of May, 1825, to our Minister at St. 
Petersburgh, Mr. Middleton, instructing him to en- 
gage the Russian Government to contribute its best 
exertions toward terminating the contest then exist- 
ing between Spain and her Colonies. The appeal 
was not in vain. Through Mr. Clay's exertions, 
the policy of recognizing the Independence of 
Greece, and sending a Minister to that country, was 
also at length acquiesced in; and the effect of that re- 
cognition — the first she had experienced — in rousing 
the spirit of the struggling nation, is a matter of 
history. 

The number of Treaties negotiated by Mr. Clay 
at the Seat of the General Government is greater 
than that of all which had ever been previously 
concluded there from the first adoption of the Con- 
stitution. His Diplomatic experience — his attract- 
ive manners— his facile and unceremonious mode of 
transacting business, rendered him a favorite with 
the Foreign Ministers at Washington, and enabled 
him to procure from them terms the most advan- 
tageous to the Country. During his incumbency 
as Secretary, he concluded and signed Treaties 
with Colombia, Central America, Denmark, Prussia 
and the Hnnsealic Republic ; and effected a nego- 
tiation with Russia for the settlement of the claims 
of American citizens. He also concluded a Treaty 
with Austria, but did not remain in office to see it 
signed. 

His letters to Mr. Gallatin, our Minister at Lon- 
don, in relation to the trade between the United 
States and the British Colonies, are documents of 
extraordinary interest and value, which ably advo- 
cate a durable and obligatory arrangement by Treaty 
in preference to other modes of settlement. His let- 
ters to the same functionary, on the Navigation of 
the St. Lawrence, and to our Charge at London, 
relative to the North-Eastern Boundary, exhibit 
much research, and a sagacious, enlighten' d and 
truly American spirit. Never was the Diplomacy 
of the Country so efficiently and creditably con- 
ducted as when under the charge of Henry Clay. 

It has been justly said that no policy could be 
more thoroughly anti-European, and more com- 
pletely American, than that of Mr. Adams's Admin- 
istration. He would exclude all farther Euiopean 
colonization from the American Continent; all in- 
terference of European Monarchs, especially those 
of the miscalled Holy Alliance, in American poli- 
tics; he would render his own country, essentially, 
independent of European work-shops, by fostering 
American Arts, Manufactures and Science, and 
would strengthen her power, by rendering her force 
more available through the instrmentality of Inter- 
nal Improvements. To these objects his efforts 
were directed. 

Mr. Clay had long been the acknowledged head 
of the Democratic Party; the most vigorous, elo- 
quent and consistent champion of their principles, 
and we may add, that such he has ever continued. 
In giving his vote for Mr. Adams, he believed — and 
events justified his belief— that he would secure to 
the Country an Administration attached to the same 
leading policy that had characterized the Adminis- 
trations of Madison and Monroe, with this additional 



The West India Trade — Who are the Federalists. 



43 



advantage : that it would be decidedly friendly to 
those great measures of Protection and Internal 
Improvement, of which he had been the early and 
persevering advocate. But the elements of oppo- 
sition, which had remained inactive during the 
eight years of Mr. Monroe's Presidency, began to 
form and combine against his successor almost be- 
fore he was ' warm in his chair.' The character of 
these elements was somewhat heterogeneous ; and 
the partisan managers were long puzzled to find 
some principles of cohesion in their opposition. 
The policy of Mr. Adams upon all important ques- 
tions coincided with that of the majority, and was 
sanctioned by the example of his great Democratic 
predecessors. At the commencement of his term 
of office, he had declared his intention to follow that 
example in the general outlines. He made it a rule 
to remove no man from office except for official mis- 
conduct, and to regard, in the selection of candi- 
dates for vacancies, only their moral and intellectual 
qualifications. He thus voluntarily relinquished the 
Bupport which he might have derived from Execu- 
tive patronage, and placed the success of his Ad- 
ministration simply upon the merit of its principles 
and its measures. What possible ground of oppo- 
sition, therefore, could be discovered or invented ? 
" No matter : his Administration must be put 
down ; " for an army of aspirants and office-seekers 
were in the field. In the words of one of the most 
distinguished of General Jackson's supporters, the 
Administration must be put down, " though as pure 
as the angels at the right hand of God." 

Such being the tone of feeling among the Oppo- 
sition, it is not a matter of surprise that the weapons 
employed against Mr. Adams and his friends were 
of a character directly the opposite of ' angelic' 
In the first place, a gross and utterly unfounded 
charge of corrupiion was brought against the Presi- 
dent and the Secretary of State. We have seen 
how utterly exploded, by the most positive and 
overwhelming testimony, that miserable slander has 
been. Charges of extravagance were then made 
against the Government; and a paltrv bill for 
crockery and furniture for the White House was 
magnified into an accusation against the plain, 
frugal and unassuming Mr. Adams of an intention 
to ape the extravagance and splendor of European 
Potentates. The ordinary and established expen- 
ditures of the Government were examined with new 
and unexampled rigor, for the purpose of producing 
the belief that they originated with the Administra- 
tion ; and an assertion on his part of the President's 
Constitutional right to appoint, in the vacation of 
Congress, Diplomatic Agents to transact the Foreign 
business of the Country was construed into an 
usurpation of a new and unconstitutional power. 

It having been discovered that the Secretary of 
State had, in some ten or dozen cases, transferred 
the employment of publishing the Laws from one 
Printing Establishment to another, a great clamor 
was raised about an attempt to corrupt the 
Press. The Secretary was charged with selecting 
the papers for political and personal objects ; and a 
Resolution was offered, in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, requiring him to communicate the 
changes which had been made, and his reasons 
therefor. But, on its being discovered that the 
House had no jurisdiction of the case, die inquiry 



was dropped. By way of showing the consistency 
of the Opposition, at the very time, the detachment 
in the House were arraigning Mr. Clay for changing 
the publication of the Laws from one newspaper to 
another, their brethren in the Senate, under the 
guidance of Mr. Van Buren, were engaged in the 
attempt to deprive the National Intelligencer of the 
Printing of that body ! 

Shortly before the termination of the Second 
Session of the Nineteenth Congress, Mr. Floyd of 
Virginia announced to the public that the ' com- 
binations' for effecting the elevation of General 
Jackson were nearly complete. During the Ses- 
sion, symptoms of the coalition began to appear; 
and on several questions an organized opposition 
was made manifest. Of these, we need only enu- 
merate the Bankrupt Act, the bills for the gradual 
improvement of the Navy, authorizing Dry Docks 
and a Naval School, the appropriations for Surveys 
and Internal Improvement, the Controversy between 
Georgia and the General Government respecting the 
Creek Treaty, the bills to augment the Duty on im- 
ported Woollens, and closing the Ports of the 
United States against British vessels from the 
Colonies, after a limited period. 

With regard to the Colonial Bill, the conduct of 
the succeeding Administration upon the subject of 
the West India Trade may make a brief outline of 
facts not inappropriate in this place. At the first 
session of the Nineteenth Congress, a bill was intro- 
duced into the Senate to accept, as far as practica- 
ble, the terms proposed by the British Acts of 1825, 
regulating the intercourse of Foreign Powers with 
her West India Islands. Owing to the long and in- 
terminable debates for political effect in that body at 
that session, the bill was not passed, and in the va- 
cation the British Government interdicted the trade. 
The next session, measures of retaliation were pro- 
posed, but no definite steps were taken until the 
close of the session ; and by a disagreement between 
the two Houses, the bill was lost, and the Execu- 
tive was compelled to close our ports abruptly with- 
out any conditions. The manner in which Mr. Van 
Buren afterwards, when Secretary of State, availed 
himself of this fact, to disparage the administration 
of Mr. Adams before the British Ministry and Na- 
tion, is well known ; and the mendicant appeals 
! which, in his instructions to our Minister at the 
Court of St. James, he directed to be made to the 
English negotiators, remain a stigma on the diplo- 
macy of the United States. The West India Trade 
was a fair and proper subject of convention between 
the two countries, lo be settled on the basis of mu- 
tual rights and reciprocal interests. The honor of 
! our country forbade any other course. If England 
J would rot d^ign to treat on this subject, it v as not 
for us to coaxher haughty Ministers into concession 
by legislative enactments. Such was the elevated 
and patriotic view of the subject taken by Mr. Clay. 
Directly opposite were the view afterwards taken, 
and the course adopted, by Mr. Van Buren. 

As Mr. Adams's administration drew to a close, it 
began to be apparent that it was not destined to a 
second term. The strongest appeals were made to 
the sectional feelings of the Western States in be- 
half of the candidate of the Opposition ; and these 
appeals were but too successful. In the various 
sections of the Union, opposite reasons were urged 



44 



Life of Henry Clay. 



with effect against the Administration. New-York 
and Pennsylvania were operated upon by an asser- 
tion, industriously circulated, that General Jackson 
was the candidate of the Democracy of the country, 
and this impression contributed to create a strong- 
party in the States of Maine and New-Hampshire. 
Nothing could be more untrue than the assertion. 
Many of the leaders of the old Federal party were 
the most ardent personal opponents of Mr. Adams, 
and becatre the most effective enemies of his Admin- 
istration. These men might afterwards be heard 
claiming to he the orthodox Democratic party, and 
denouncing Henry Clay — the early opponent of the 
Alien and Sedition Laws — the friend and supporter 
of Jefferson's administration — the main pillar of Ma* 
dison's — and the most active originator and advocate 
of the Last War— as a Federalist ! 

The truth is that it has fared with the principles 
of Federalism as with its men. In the time of Mr. 
Monroe there was a general blending of parties. A 
new and distinct formation, on grounds at first pure- 
ly personal, was made during the administration of 
Gen. Jackson. As soon as there was a division on 
principles, the worst part of the old Federalists — 
some of the most bitter and envenomed— the black 
cockade gentry, who had passed their younger years 
in writing pusquinades on Mr. Jefferson's breeches, 
and had been in the habit of thanking Heaven that 
they had " no Democratic blood in their veins" — 
went over to Gen. Jackson, and carried with them a 
spirit of ultraism, ay, and of ultra-Federalism, which 
was developed in the Protest, and Proclamation, and 
many of the leading measures of his Administration. 
The more moderate, prudent and patriotic joined 
with the Democratic party, and formed the great 
Whig party of the country. The ultras of the old 
parties coalesced, and the combination was natu- 
rally Tory* 

Upon the. assembling of the Twentieth Congress, 
it was ascertained, by the election of the Speaker, 
that a majority of the House was opposed to the | Mont 
Administration; and this victory was soon followed 
by such an accession from those who were ■uncom- 
mitted in the Senate as to give a majority to the 
same party in that body. Thenceforward the Ad- 
ministration was not allowed, of course, a fair trial ; 
and every question was discussed with a view to 
political effect. 



At length, in the autumn of 1828, the Presidential 
Election took place, and resulted in the choice of 
Andrew Jackson, by one hundred and twenty-eight 
votes in the primary Electoral Colleges, given by 
sixteen States, including Virginia and Georgia, 
which, in the previous Election, had cast their votes 
for Mr. Crawford* Mr. Adams was supported by 
the six New-England States; by New-Jersey, which 
had previously voted against him ; by Delaware, 
and sixteen votes from New-York, and six from Ma- 
ryland. Mr. Calhoun obtained the same vote for 
Vice President that Gen. Jackson did for President, 
except seven votes in Georgia, which were thrown 
away upon William Smith of South Carolina. Mr. 
Rush received the whole vote of the Administration 
party for Vice President. 

Thus ended the administration of John Quincy 
Adams, during which our domestic and foreign af- 
fairs were never more ably and prosperously con- 
ducted. The foreign policy of the Government had 
only in view the maintenance of the dignity of the 
National character, the extension of our Commercial 
Relations, and the successful prosecution of the 
claims of American citizens upon Foreign Govern- 
ments. 

The Domestic policy was no less liberal, active 
and decided ; and never was there a more ground- 
less political libel than that which impeached the 
integrity and economy of that Administration. As 
the charge of extravagance was the argument most 
vehemently urged against Mr. Adams's Administra- 
tion, it may be well in this place to glance at its 
plausibility. The aggregate expenditures of the 
several Administrations from 1789 to 1833, exclusive 
of the Public Debt, and payments under Treaty stipu- 
lations, including the expenses and arrearages of the 
last War with Great Britain, were : 
Washington's Administration, 8 yrs. $15,890,698 55 
John Adams's " 

Jefferson's " 

Madison's " 

nroe's " 

J. Q. Adams's " 

Jackson's " 



1 


t< 


21,348,35(5 19 


8 


u 


41,100,788 88 


8 


it 


144,684,944 86 


8 


a 


99,363,509 64 


4 


a 


49,725,721 26 


8 


u 


144,579,847 72 



Total $516,693,867 10 

From this statement it appears that the reforming, 
retrenching, economical, Democratic Administration 
of General Jackson, that expressed such a holy hor- 
ror at Mr. Adams's extravagance, cost the country 
* In one df the skirmishes between Mr. Clay and Mr. Calhoun, as much as the Administration of Mr. Madison, in- 
duringtbe Sub-Treasury discussion. Mr. Clay took up, among ' eluding the outlays of an expensive War with Great 
other topics, this question of Federalism. Mr. Calhoun had al- 
luded to the friends of his opponent, as members of the Federal 
party. " Sir," said Mr. Clay, " 1 am ready to go into an exami- 



' nation with the honorable Senator at any time, and then we 
' shall see if there are not more members of that same old Federal 
' party amongst those whom the Senator has so recently joined 
| than on our side of the house. The plain truth is, that it is 
| the old Federal party with whom he is now acting. For all 
' the f! irmer gn iund« of difference which distinguished that party, 
' and were the subjects of contention between them and the Re^ 
' publicans, have ceased, from lapse of time and change of cir- 
| cumstances, with the exception of erne, and that is the mainte- 
| nance and increase of Executive power. This was a leading 
' policy of the Federal party. A strong, powerful and energetic. 
' Executive was its favorite tenet." * * * "I can tell the 
| gentleman thai he will find the true old Democratic party, 
' who were for resisting the encroachments of power, and lim- 
' iting Executive patronage, on. this side of the Senate, and 
| not with his new a/lies, the Jackson-Van Buren Democratic 
' party, whose leading principle is to sustain the Executive, 
■and deny nil power to the Legislature: and which does not 
• hold a solitary principle in common with the Republican par- 
'tv of 1138." 



Britain. Mr. Van Buren retrenched in the same 
ratio with his predecessor. The first year of his 
Administration cost the People $33,554,341 — about 
three times the average annual expenditure of Mr. 
Adams! During the remainder of his term the 
public expenses were in a like proportion. What 
measure of condemnation should be bestowed upon 
the political hypocrites whose promised reforms and 
retrenchments resulted in such gross profligacy and 
neglect of the public interests ! 
' In March, 1R29, General Jackson entered upon 
the discharge of his official duties as President. On 
the 14th of the same month, Mr. Clay left Washing- 
ton for his residence in Kentucky. Before quitting 
that city, some of the principal residents, a* a part- 
ing tribute of respect, gave him a Public Dinner. 
In bis speech on the occasion, he briefly reviewed 
the events, in which he had been an actor, during 



Return to Kentucky — Remarks on Slavery. 



45 



the preceding four years. He alluded to the serious 
charge against him, which had been brought by 
General Jackson, who, after summoning his friend 
and only witness (Mr. Buchanan) to establish it, and 
hearing that witness promptly and unequivocally 
deny all knowledge whatever of any transaction 
that could throw the slightest shade upon the 
character of the accused, maintained a stubborn 
and persevering silence upon the subject, instead of 
magnanimously acknowledging his error and atoning 
for the gross injustice of which he had been guilty. 
"But," said Mr. Clay, " my relations to that citi- 
1 zen, by a recent event, are now changed. He is 
' the Chief Magistrate of my Country, invested with 
' large and extensive powers, the administration of 
•which may conduce to its prosperity, or occasion 
'its adversity. Patriotism, enjoins, as a duty, that 
' while he is in that exalted station, he should be 
' treated with decorum, and his official acts be judged 
' of in a spirit of candor." 

Such was the patriotic spirit with which Mr. Clay 
regarded the elevation of General Jackson, and in 
which he was prepared to judge of the acts of the 
new Administration. 

The political enemies of Mr. Clay were not, how- 
ever, content with misrepresenting his public course. 
They lifted, with a rude and ruffianly hand, the veil 
from his private affairs, and attempted to destroy his 
private credit by charging him with bankruptcy. 
The consequence was the publication of a letter 
from Mr. Clay to Robert Wickliffe, Esq. dated May 
24, 1823, in which the falsehoods of his assailants 
were fully qonfuted. He admitted that he had 
incurred a heavy responsibility, about ten years 
before, as endorser for his friends, to which cause 
his temporary retirement from public life and the 
renewal of his professional labors were to be 
attributed. The mortgages upon his Estate did not 
amount to ten thousand dollars, and before the ex- 
piration of the year he hoped there would not remain 
one-fifth of that sum. 

"I have hitherto," says Mr. Clay, in this letter, 
" met al! my engagements by the simplest of pro- 
cesses, that" of living within my income, punctually 
paying interest when I could not pay principal, and 
carefully preserving my credit. I am not free, ab- 
solutely, from debt. I am not rich. I never coveted 
riches. But my estate would, even now, be estima- 
ted at not much less than one hundred thousand dol- 
lars. Whatever it may be worth, it is a gratification 
for me to know that it is the produce of my own hon- 
est labor— no part of it being hereditary, except one 
slave, who would oblige me very much if he would 
accept his freedom. It is sufficient, after paying all 
my debts, to leave mv family above want, if I should 
be" separated from them. It is a matter also of conso- 
lation to me to know, that this wanton exposure of 
my private affairs can do me no pecuniary prejudice. 
My few creditors will not allow their confidence in me 
to be shaken by it. It has indeed led to one incident, 
which was at the same time a source of pleasure and 
of pain. A friend lately called on me at the instance 
of other friends, and informed me, that they were ap- 
prehensive that my private affairs were embarrassed, 
and that I allowed their embarrassment to prey upon 
mv mind. He came, therefore, with their authority 
to tell me, that they would contribute any sum that 
I mi^bt want to relieve me. The emotions which 
such" a proposition excited can be conceived only by 
honorable men. I felt most happy to be able to un- 
deceive them, and to decline their benevolent prop- 
osition." 



CHAPTER X. 

Mr. Clay's Return to Kentucky— Triumphant Reception— Pub- 
lic Dinners — Speeches — Mr. Clay and the Colonization Socie- 
ty — His sentiments on Slavery — Abolition Petitions — Visit to 
New-Orleans— Natchez— Complimentary Reception by the 
Louisiana Houseof Representatives — Visit to Ohio — Dines with 
the Mechanics at Columbus— His Election to the U. S. Senate 
in 1831— Nomination to the Presidency— The Tariff— Defence 
of the American System— Mr. Clay's estimate of the Irish 
character— Reduction of'Duties— Letter off. H. Benton. 

There are few men, who can bear defeat more 
gracefully, or with more unaffected good humor, 
than Mr. Clay. Relieved from his official toils as 
Secretary of State, his health rapidly improved, and 
his fine spirits expanded unchecked. On his journey 
from the seat of Government, previous to his arrival 
at Uniontown in Pennsylvania, the roads being ex- 
tremely bad, he sent his private vehicles ahead and 
took the stage-coach. Finding it disagreeable with- 
in, however, he removed to an outside seat next the 
driver, and, in that situation, entered Uniontown. 
The good people of the place expressed a great deal 
of surprise at seeing the ex-Secretary in that lofty, 
and yet humble position. " Gentlemen," replied Mr. 
Clay, " although I am with the outs, yet I can as- 
sure you that the ins behind me have much the worst 
of it." 

On his way to Kentucky, Mr. Clay received con- 
tinual testimonials of the attachment and esteem of 
the people. He was invited to innumerable public din- 
ners, but was able to appear only at a few. At Fred- 
erick in Maryland, he made an admirable speech at 
one of these complimentary festivals on the eight- 
eenth of March, 1829. On the thirty-first of the same 
month he dined with the mechanics at Wheeling, 
whom he addressed principally in relation to the 
American System — Manufactures and Internal Im- 
provements. He reached his home at Ashland, with 
his family, the sixth of April, having been met at 
some distance from Lexington by a large number of 
friends, by whom he was most affectionately received. 

On the 16th of May, a great public dinner was 
given to him at Fowler's Garden by his fellow- 
townsmen. Three thousand sat down at the table; 
and Mr. Clay spoke for the space of one hour and 
thirty-five minutes ; the following appropriate toast 
having been previously given : " Our distinguished 
' guest, friend and neighbor, Henry Clay — with in- 
' creased proofs of his worth, we delight to renew 
'the assurance of our confidence in his patriotism, 
' talents and incorruptibility — may health and happi- 
' ness attend him in retirement, and a grateful na- 
'tion do justice to his virtues." 

Mr. Clay's speech on this occasion is one of the 
choicest specimens of his eloquence, being pervaded 
by some of the finest characteristics of his style, al- 
though there is, of course, an absence of those im- 
passioned appeals, which would ha\e been out of 
place. The exordium is full of pathos and beauty. 
He had been separated for four years from his friends 
and neighbors. After devoting the best energies of 
his prime to the service of his country, he had been 
grossly traduced and injured, and his most conspic- 
uous traducer had been elevated to the Presidency. 
He had returned home once more; and now saw be- 
fore him, gathered together to do him honor, to re- 
new their assurances of attachment and confidence, 
sires with whom, for more than thirty years, he had 
interchanged friendly offices — their sons, grown up 



46 



Life of Henry Clay 



during his absence in the public councils, accompa- 
nying them— and all prompted by ardent attach- 
ment, surrounding and saluting him as if he belong- 
ed to their own household. 

After alluding in the happiest manner to some of 
these circumstances, Mr. Clay reviewed briefly the 
course of the past Administration — referred to the 
clamor which had been raised against Mr. Adams 
(or proscription— when the fact was, that not a soli- 
tary officer of the Government, from Maine to Lou- 
isiana, was dismissed on account of his political 
opinions, during the whole of Mr. Adams's Admin- 
istration — contrasted this course with that which 
President Jackson commenced so soon after his in- 
stallation — and eloquently pointed out the evil con- 
sequences of the introduction of a tenure of public 
office, which depended upon personal attachment 
to the Chief Magistrate. 

In concluding his remarks, Mr. Clay touchingly 
expressed his gratitude to his fellow-citizens of Ken- 
tucky, who had " constantly poured upon him a 
bold and unabated stream of innumerable favors." 
The closing sentences of the speech are in the 
genuine language of the heart which cannot be coun- 
terfeited, and which none can so eloquently employ 
as Henry Clay. "When," said he, "I felt as if I 
' should sink beneath the storm of abuse and detrac- 
' tion, which was violently raging around me, I have 
'found myself upheld and sustained by your encour- 
' aging voice and your approving smiles. I have 
' doubtless committed many faults and indiscretions, 
' over which you have thrown the broad mantle of 
'your charity. But I can say, and in the presence 
'of my God and of this assembled multitude I will 
' say, that I have honestly and faithfully served my 
'country; that I have never wronged it; and that, 
' however unprepared I lament that I am to appear 
' in the Divine Presence on other accounts, I invoke 
'the stern Justice of his judgment on my public 
'conduct, without the smallest apprehension of his 
' displeasure." 

During the Summer and Autumn of 1829 Mr. 
Clay visited several parts of the State of his adop- 
tion and everywhere he was hailed as a friend and 
public benefactor. On the 17th of December he ad- 
dressed the Kentucky Colonization Society at Frank- 
fort in a speech, in which he eloquently vindicated 
the policy and character of that benevolent institu- 
tion. He had been an early and constant advocate 
of the system of Colonization. In his speech before 
the American Colonization Society, delivered the 
20th of January, 1827, in the Hall of the House of 
Representatives at Washington, we find the follow- 
ing impressive passage : 

" It is now a little upwards of ten years since a 
religious, amiable and benevolent resident of this 
citv Mr. Caldwell) fir^t conceived the idea of plant- 
ing a Colony, from the United States, of free people 
of color, on the Western shores of Africa. He is no 
more, and the noblest eulogy which could be pro- 
nounced on him would be to inscribe upon his tomb, 
the merited epitaph — • Here lies the projector of the 
American Colonization Society.' Amongst others, 
to whom he communicated the project, was the p- r- 
p<m who now bus the honor of addressing you. My 
first impressions, like those of all who have not 
fully investigated the subject, were against it. The) 
yielded to his earnest persuasions and my own re- 



flections, and I finally agreed with him that the ex- 
periment was worthy of a fair trial." 

After presenting in a clear and forcible light tho 
project of the Society for the gradual extir ction of 
Slavery, Mr. Clay remarked in regard to it : " All, 
'or any one, of the Stales which tolerate Slavery 
'may adopt and execute it, by co-operation or se- 
' parate exertion. If I could be instrumental in era- 
' dicating this deepest stain upon the character of our 
' country, and removing all cause of reproach on 
'account of it by foreign nations — If I could only 
' be instrumental in ridding of this foul blot that re- 
' vered State that gave me birth, or thai not less be- 
' loved state which kindly adopted me as her son, I 
' would not exchange the proud satisfaction which I 
' should enjoy for the honor of all the triumphs ever 
' decreed to the most successful conqueror." 

To the system of colonization, we believe, Mr. 
Clay yet looks as a means for diminishing the pro- 
portion of the black population to the white in the 
Slave States until emancipation would be compati- 
ble with the security and interests of the latter. 

In January, 1830, Mr. Clay made a visit to one of 
his married daughters at New-Orleans. Although 
appearing there as a private citizen, he found it im- 
possible to escape those, attentions, which the public 
gratitude suggested. He was daily visited by 
crowds of persons, including Members of the Legis- 
lature and Judges of the different Courts. The ship- 
masters, who were in port, waited in a body upon 
him as the champion of Free Trade and Sailors' 
Rights. Declining an invitation to a public dinrif r, 
he left New-Orleans for Natchez, on his way home, 
the 9th of March. As the boat, in which he had 
embarked, quitted the pier, the scene was of the 
most animated description. The Levee and the tops 
of the steamboats, a great number of which were in 
port, exhibited a crowded and almost unbroken mass 
of spectators, collected to see him and do him honor. 
The shouting multitude, the elevation of flags, and 
the roar of cannons, which burst from the crowd of 
surrounding vessels, as the boat moved off, present- 
ed altogether one of the most imposing spectacles 
that could be imagined. It was a grand civic ova- 
tion, as honorable to the subject of it as any triumph 
which ever greeted a military conqueror. 

At Natchez, persons from all parts of Mississippi 
were waiting to meet him. The press of the crowd 
into the steamboat containing the illustrious visitor 
was so great as to excite alarm; and the mass col- 
lected on the wharf was so dense that much time 
and exertion were required to make way through it. 
Soon after his arrival he accepted a pressing invita- 
tion to a public dinner. A vast concourse assem- 
bled on the occasion. His speech is described as 
unusually felicitous. He was several times obliged 
to stop speaking for some minutes — while the en- 
thusiasm of his hearers exhausted itself in repeated 
rounds of applause. In the course of his remarks, 
having occasion to allude to the battle of New-Or- 
leans, he paid a generous tribute to Gen. Jackson. 
Henry Clay never was the man to detract from the 
merits of even his most unrelenting opponents. 

On the twenty-seventh of March, Mr Clay reach- 
ed Lexington, having declined numerous invitations 
to public dinners on his route. He had stopped on 
his way unpremeditatedly at Donaldsonville, (the 



Speech in Cincinnati in 1830. 



47 



new Seat of Government of Louisiana,) to see the 
public buildings, and pay his respects to some of his 
old friends and acquaintances. Unexpectedly enter- 
ing the hall of the House of Representatives, he was 
immediately recognized, and the whole body, inclu- 
ding the Speaker and Members of all parties, simul- 
taneously rose to receive him. 

In the summer of 1830, having business in the 
Circuit and District Courts of Ohio, he visited Co- 
lumbus, where he was cordially welcomed by the 
Mechanics, at whose Celebration the following ap- 
propriate Toast was given : 

"Our inestimable guest, Hk.nry Clay. An effi- 
cient lalioicr in support of the Industry of the Coun- 
try. Fanners and Mechanics know how to appre- 
ciate his services." 

His entry into Cincinnati was quite imposing. — 
All classes assembled to welcome his approach. 
He here dined with ihe Mechanics, and his Speech 
upon the occasion is an eloquent vindication of the 
American System, and a just rebuke of the odious 
doctrine of Nullification, which was then beginning 
to be preached in South Carolina and Georgia. 

In the autumn of 1831, Mr. Clay was elected to 
the Senate of the United Slates by the Legislature 
of Kentucky, by (he following vote : — In the Senate, 
Henry Clay, 18; Richard M. Johnson, 19; Warden 
Pope, 1. In the House of Delegates, Clay, 55; 
Johnson, 45. — At the first session of the Twenty- 
Second Congress, be presented his credentials, and 
took his seat once more in a body where, twenty-five 
years before, he had made his influence felt and his 
talents respected. 

Contemporaneous with his re-appearance in the 
Senate, was the meeting of the National Republican 
Convention, which assembled at Baltimore on the 
twelfth of December, 1831, and unanimously nomi- 
nated Henry Clay to the office of President of the 
United States, and John Sergeant to that of Vice 
President. 

The subject of the Tariff began to be vehemently 
agitated in Congress early in the session of 1831-32. 
The discontent of the South was assuming an alarm- 
ing aspect ; and the system of Protection, which Mr. 
Clay had labored so long and incessantly to estab- 
lish, was threatened with material qualifications, if 
not a complete overthrow. In that conciliatory 
spirit, which he had manifested on many critical oc- 
casions, he now approached this exciting topic. On 
the ninth of January, 1832, he introduced a Resolu- 
tion providing that the existing Duties upon articles 
imported from foreign countries, and not coming 
into competition with similar articles made or pro- 
duced within the United States, ought to be forth- 
with abolished, except the Duties upon Wines and 
Silks, and that they ought to be reduced; and that 
the Committee on Finance be instructed to report a 
bill accordingly. This Resolution he sustained in 
an admirable Speech of about two hours' duration, 
in which he spoke warmly in favor of the mainte- 
nance of the Protective Policy and that of Internal 
Improvement. 

Mr. Hayne followed in reply ; and on the second 
of February, the subject being still under discussion 
before the Senate, Mr. Clay commenced his ever- 
memorable Speech in defence of (he American Sys- 
tem against the British Colonial System. It was 
continued on the next day, and finally completed on 



the sixth of the same month. Such a chain of Irre- 
fragable argument as it presents, interlinked with 
facts the most cogent and appropriate, has rarely 
been forged by human ingenuity. It will be refer- 
red to by future statesmen as their political text- 
book, when the Protective Policy is called in ques- 
tion. 

After an impressive exordium, he alluded to the 
distress of the country after the War. The period 
of greatest distress was seven years previous to the 
year 1824 : the period of greatest prosperity the seven 
years following that act. He then gave a picture of 
the flourishing condition of the country. He main- 
tained that all the predictions of the enemies of the 
Tariff in 1824 had been falsified by experience — that 
all the benefits which he had anticipated had been 
realized. He alluded to all the interests now pro- 
tected — all Mechanic Arts — Navigation — Agricul- 
ture — and Manufactures. He argued that the Tariff 
began in 1792, which established the great principle 
of Protection. It was the second act of the First 
Congress — sanctioned by the Father of his Country, 
and most of the eminent Statesmen of that day. Mr. 
Clay then traced the history of the subject down to 
1816; commented on the Tariff' of that year, its ob- 
ject, extent and policy; then the Tariff' of 1824 ; the 
amendment of the system in 1828— the Bill of which 
yeo/r was framed on principles directly adverse to 
the declared wishes of the friends of the policy of 
Protection, although the error then perpetrated was 
corrected by subsequent legislation. 

After a graphic description of the beneficial effects 
of the policy, which they were now called upon to 
subvert, Mr. Clay asked what was the substitute pro- 
posed by those whose design was the immediate or 
gradual destructiun of the American System? The 
reply is as appropriate to the enemies of the System 
now as it was ten years ago. " Free Trade ! — 
' Free Trade! The call for Free Trade is as una- 

• vailing as the cry of a spoiled child, in his nurse's 
' arms, for the moon or the stars that glitter in the 
' firmament of heaven. It never has existed. It 
'never will exist. Trade implies at least two par- 
' ties. To be free, it should be fair, equal and reci- 
' procal. But if we throw our ports wide open to 
' the admission of foreign productions, free of all 
' duty, what ports, of any other foreign nations, shall 
' we find open to the free admission of our surplus 
' produce ? We may break down all barriers to 
' Free Trade, on our part, but they will not be com- 
' plete until Foreign Powers shall have removed 
' theirs. There would be freedom on one side, and 
' restrictions, prohibitions and exclusions on the 
'other. The bolts and the bars and the chains of 

• all other nations will remain undisturbed." * * 

• * " Gentlemen deceive themselves. It is not 
' Free Trade that they are recommending to our ac- 
' ceptance. It is, in effect, the British Colonial 
' System that we are invited to adopt ; and, if their 
' policy prevail, it will lead, substantially, to tlie re- 
' colonization of these Stales, vnder the commercial 
' dominion of Great Britain." 

* " Fair Trade and Sailors' Rights." was the Toast given by 
the late Mr. Gilmer, the day of the fatal accident on hoard the 
Princeton. The substitution of a single word illuminate the 
whole subject. A " Fair Trade" is what Mr. Clay has olwan 
aimed to secure for his country. 



43 



Life of Henry Clay. 



In the course of his Speech, Mr. Clay had occa- 
sion to introduce the following remarks upon lhe 
Irish character. They show his high appreciation 
of the worth of an important class of our adopted 
fellow citizens : 

" Of all foreigners, none amalgamate themselves 
so quickly with our people as the natives of the 
Emerald isle. In some of the visions which have 
passed through my imagination, I have supposed 
that Ireland was, originally, part and parcel of this 
Continent, and that, by "some extraordinary con- 
vulsion of nature, it was torn from America, and, 
drifting across the ocean, was placed in the un- 
fortunate vicinity of Great Britain. The same 
open-heartedness ; the same generous hospitality; 
the same careless and uncalculating indifference 
ahout human life, characterize the inhabitants of 
both countries. Kentucky has been sometimes 
called the Ireland of America. And I have no 
doubt that, if the current of emigration were re- 
versed, and set from America upon the shores of 
Europe, instead of bearing from Europe to America, 
every American emigrant to Ireland would there 
find, a3 every Irish emigrant litre finds, a hearty 
welcome and a happy home ! " 

On the 13th of March Mr. Dickerson, from the 
Committee on Manufactures, reported, in conformity 
with 3Ir. Clay's resolution, a bill for repealing the 
duties upon certain specified articles of import. The 
bill was opposed at the threshold because it did not 
embrace the whole subject of the Tariff; because it 
made no reduction of duties upon protected articles. 
An animated debute ensued, and the bill was laid 
upon the table. After undergoing numerous modi- 
fications in both Houses, it was finally passed by 
Congress in July, 1832. By this new law, the prin- 
ciples for which Mr. Clay and the rest of the friends 
of Domestic Industry had contended, were pre- 
served. The Revenue was greatly reduced, but 
the Protective System remained unimpaired. Of 
Mr. Clay's efforts in the establishment of that Sys- 
tem no one has more impressively spoken than 
Thomas Hart Benton, Senator in Congress from 
Missouri, who, in a Circular signed by him and first 
published in the ' Missouri Intelligencer,' October 
£>2, 1824, gives utterance to these just and eloquent 
sentiments : 

" The principles which would govern Mr. Clay's 
Administration, if elected, are well known to the 
Nation. They have been displayed upon the floor 
of Congress for the last seventeen years. They 
constitute a System of American Policy, based 
on the Agriculture and Manufactures of his own 
country — upon Interior as well as Foreign Com- 
merce — upon Internal as well as Sea-Board Im- 
provement — upon the independence of the New 
World, and close Commercial alliances with Mexico 
and South America. If it is said that others would 
puii-ue the same system; we answer, that the 
± /bunder of a System is the natural executor of his 
own work ; that the most efficient protector of 
American Iron, Lead, Hemp, Wool and Cotton 
would be the triumphant champion of the New 
Tariff; the safest friend to Interior Commerce would 
be the Statesman who has proclaimed the Mississippi 
to be the Sea of the West ; the most zealous pro- 
moter of Internal Improvements would be the Presi- 
dent, who has triumphed over the President who 
opposed the construction of National Roads and 
Canals; the most successful applicant for Treaties 
with Mexico and South America would be the elo- 
quent advocate of their own Independence. 

"THOMAS HART BENTON." 



CHAPTER XI. 

Reception of the Amended Tariff at the South— Progress of 
Nullification— Re-election of General Jackson— Proclama- 
tion — The Protective System in danger — The Enforcement 
Rill— Perilous state of Affairs— Henry Clay comes forward 
with his Plan for a Compromise— Origin of that Measure — 
Particulars in regard to it — Mr. Clayton of Delaware — Anec- 
dote—Leading Motives of Mr. Clay— Statement of Hon. 
H. A. S. Dearborn— Passage of the Compromise Rill— Public 
Gratitude— Characteristics of Mr. Clay's Public Career— His 
Visit to New-England— Triumphal Reception— Honors paid 
to him on his route. 

The amended Tariff was received with little favor 
by the South. Nullification grew daily bolder in its 
denunciations and' menaces; and tlie Union seemed 
to be greatly in danger. On the 24th of November, 
1832, the South Carolina Convention passed their 
ordinance, declaring the Revenue Laws of . the 
United States null and void; and soon afterward 
the Legislature of the State met, ratified the pro- 
ceedings of the Convention, and passed laws for the 
organization of the Militia and the purchase of 
munition and ordnance. 

In the midst of these troubles, the Presidential 
Contest took place, and resulted in the reelection of 
General Jackson over the opposing candidates, 
Henry Clay, John Floyd of Virginia, and William 
Wirt. 

On the 10th of December, 1832, soon after the 
meeting of Congress, President Jackson issued his 
Proclamation, announcing his determination to en- 
force the Revenue Laws, and exhorting the citizens 
of South Carolina to pause in their disorganizing 
career. This remonstrance produced little effect. 
It was followed, on the 20th of the same month, by 
a counter Proclamation from Governor Hayne, 
warning the citizens of South Carolina against the 
attempt of the President to seduce them from their 
allegiance, and exhorting them, in disregard of his 
threats, to be prepared to sustain the State against 
the arbitrary measures of the Federal Executive. 

The Protective System was at this moment in im- 
minent hazard of being destroyed. General Jack- 
son's Administration was always inimical to that 
policy, originated and principally supported as it 
had been by a hated rival. The Tariff became the 
great question of the session. It was referred to the 
Committee of Ways and Means, where it was re- 
modeled ; and on the 27th of December, a bill was 
reported, which was understood to embody the views 
of the Administration. It proposed a diminution of 
the duties on all the protected articles, to take effect 
immediately, and a further diminution on the 2nd of 
March, 1834. The subject was discussed from the 
8th to the 16th of January, 1833, when a message 
was received from the President, communicating the 
South Carolina ordinance and nullifying laws, to- 
gether with his own views as to what should be done 
under the existing state of affairs. On the twenty- 
first of the same month, the Judiciary Committee of 
the Senate reported a bill to enforce the collection 
of the revenue, where any obstructions were offered 
to the officers employed in that duty. 

The aspect of affairs was now alarming in the ex- 
treme. The administration party in the House had 
shown itself utterly incapable of devising a tariff 
likely to be accepted by a majority of that body. 
The session was rapidly drawing to a close. South 
Carolina had deferred the period of its collision with 
the General Government in the hope that some mea- 



The Compromise Act — Mr. Clay's Exertions — Mr. Clayton. 



49 



sure of adjustment would be adopted by Congress. 
This hope seemed to be daily growing fainter. 
Should the enforcing bill not be carried into effect 
against the Nullifiers, the Tariff was still menaced 
by the Federal administration, avowedly hostile to 
the protective system. 

At this juncture, Henry Clay, deeply impressed 
with the importance of the crisis, stepped forward 
to reconcile conflicting interests, and to avert the 
direful consequences which would result from the 
farther delay of an adjustment. On the eleventh of 
February he introduced his celebrated Compromise 
Bill, providing for a gradual reduction of duties 
until 1842, when 20 per cent, at a home valuation 
should be the rate, " until otherwise regulated by 
'law." 

Mr. Clay introduced this bill with some pertinent 
and impressive remarks, in which he deplored the 
distracted and portentous condition of the country, 
and appealed strongly to the patriotism and good 
sense of Congress to apply a remedy. The bill 
underwent a long and vehement discussion. None 
could deny the purity and loftiness of the motives 
which had led to its presentation; but it was vehe- 
mently opposed by many. Mr. Smith, of Maryland, 
opposed it, because " it contained nothing but pro- 
' tection from beginning to end." Mr. Forsyth ex- 
ulted over the admission, which had been made by 
Mr. Clay, that "the Tariff was in danger." "It is," 
said Mr. F., "at its last gasp — no hellebore can cure 
' it." The Southern members opposed the bill mainly 
because it provided for a home valuation. 

Towards the close of the debate, a personal dif- 
ficulty arose between Mr. Poindexer, of Mississippi, 
and Mr. Webster. The former, in the course of his 
reply to a very powerful attack from Mr. Webster 
upon the Compromise Bill of Mr. Clay, made refer- 
ence to the course of Mr. W., during the war of 
1312. Mr. Webster declined all explanation, and 
Mr. Poindexter immediately declared thai he "felt 
'the most perfect contempt for the Senator from 
' Massachusetts." Mr. Clay interfered, with his 
usual generosity, and in a few remarks, complimen- 
tary alike to both Senators, effected a mutually sat- 
isfactory explanation. 

Mr. Clay had conceived the idea of the Compro- 
mise in Philadelphia in December, 1832, when he 
was passing a few weeks with his brother-in-law, 
the late James Brown, Esq. who had fixed his res- 
idence in that city, after his mission to France. The 
reelection of Gen. Jackson to the Presidency had 
been made known the month before, and Mr. Clay 
had commenced his journey from Ashland to Wash- 
ington not in the best spirits but resolved to do his 
duty. Jackson's power was then at its zenith. He 
had vetoed the charter of the Bank of the United 
States. He was triumphantly reelected. His pow- 
er seemed resistless. Nevertheless, Mr. Clay was 
resolved to fight on, and to fight to the last. 

He believed the President insincere in his profes- 
sions of attachment to the Protective policy ; that, 
under the delusive name of a judicious Tariff, he 
concealed the most deadly and determined hostility 
to the Protection of American Industry. Mr. Clay 
saw the partisans of "free trade" supporting Gen. 
Jackson, with the greatest zeal; and knew that some 
of them counted upon subverting the whole system 
through the power and influence of that arbitrary 



chief magistrate. He saw many of the members of 
Congress from States known to be friendly to the 
preservation of that policy, yet willing to go secret- 
ly, if not openly, as far as they dared go in asserting 
the overthrow of that policy. 

In the mean time Nullification had assumed a 
threatening aspect. The supporters of that heresy 
had gone so far that, if no change in the Tariff took 
place, they must fight or be forever disgraced. Mr. 
Clay thought that if a Civil War were once begun 
it might extend itself to all the Southern States, 
which, although they did not approve of Nullifica- 
tion, would probably not be willing to stand by and 
see South Carolina crushed for extreme zeal in a 
cause, which was common to them all. 

Such were the circumstances, under which, dur- 
ing the leisure Mr. Clay enjoyed with his friend, 
Mr. Brown, in Philadelphia, he directed his mind 
to the consideration of some healing scheme for the 
existing public troubles. 

The terms of ;he Compromise Act substantially 
as it passed, were the result of Mr. Clay's reflec- 
tions at that time. He communicated them to his 
friend, the lamented Senator Johnston, from Louis- 
iana, who concurred with him heartily. A Com- 
mittee of Manufacturers, consisting of Messrs. Bo- 
vie, Dupont, Richards and others, waited on Mr. Clay 
in Philadelphia, to consult with him on the impend- 
ing dangers to the Protective policy. To them he 
broach'd his scheme, and they approved it. He 
mentioned it to Mr. Webster in Philadelphia, but 
that distinguished Senator did not agree with him. 
On leaching Washington, Mr. Clay communicated 
it to many practical Manufacturers, ; to Hezekiah 
Niles, Mr. Simmons of the Senate, from Rhode Is- 
land, and others. They agreed with him ; and every 
practical Manufacturer of that day with whom ha 
conversed (except Mr. Ellicott, of Maryland,) assent- 
ed to the project. Most of their friends in Congress, 
especially in the Senate, followod their example. 
The chief opposition, it was thought, was to be 
traced to Mr. Webster and gentlemen who had a 
great deference for the opinion of the Massachusetts 
Senator. 

Mr. Clay's own convictions being thus strength- 
ened by the opinions of practical men, he resolved 
to proceed. He had no interviews with Southern 
Members on the subject of the contemplated propo- 
sal, until he had prepared and was about to submit 
the bill ; at which time, he had one or two inter- 
views with Mr. Calhoun, at Mr. Clay's lodgings. 
But through his friend, Governor Letcher of Ken- 
tucky, who was intimate with Mr. McDuffie and 
other Southern gentlemen, Mr. Clay ascertained 
their views. He found one highly favorable state 
of feeling — that they were so indignant with Gen- 
eral Jackson for his Proclamation, and his determi- 
nation to put down the Nullifiers by force if neces- 
sary, that they greatly preferred the difficulty should 
be settled rather by Mr. Clay than by the Adminis- 
tration. 

Mr. J. M. Clayton of Delaware entered with great 
zeal into the views of Mr. Clay, and seconded his 
exertions with untiring, able, constant and strenu- 
ous endeavors. Often he would say to him, look- 
ing at Mr. Calhoun and other members from South 
Carolina, " Well, Clay, these are clever fellows, and 
it won't do to let old Jackson hang tor*. We must 



50 



Life of Henry Clay. 



save them if possible." Mr Clayton belonged to a such a vast military power as might be necessary 



mess of seven or ei 'lit Senator?, every one of whom 
was interested in the preservation of the protective 
policy. Without their votes, it was impossible that 
the Compromise should pass. They, through Mr. 
Clayton, insisted upon the home valuation, as a 
sine qua non, from which they would never depart. 
Mr. Clay told them that he would not give it up; 
and the Compromise Bill never could have passed 
without that feature of it. 

The Southern Senators had declared that they 
would be content with whatever would satisfy the 
South Carolina Senators. Mr. Calhoun had mani- 
fested strong objections to the home valuation. Mr. 
Clay told him that he must concur in it, or the 
measure would be defeated. Mr. Calhoun appeared 
very reluctant to do so ; and Mr. Clay went to the 
Senate on the day when the Bill was to be decided, 
uncertain as to what its fate would be. When the 
bill was taken up, Mr. Calhoun rose in his place 
and agreed to the home valuation, evidently, how- 
ever, with reluctance. 

Two great leading motives operated with Mr. Clay 
in bringing forward and supporting his measure of 
Compromise. The first was, that he believed the 
whole protective policy to be in the most imminent 
peril from the influence of Gen. Jackson and the 
dominion of his party. He believed that it could not 
possibly survive that session of Congress cr the next, 
which would open with a vast increase of rhat influ- 
ence and power. He had seen the gradual but in- 
sidious efforts to undermine the policy, sometimes 
openly avowed, frequently craftily concealed. He 
had seen that a bill was actually introduced by Mr. 
Verplanck, and then pending in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, which would have utterly subverted the 



to enforce tlw latex and put down any resistance to 
them in South Carolina, and which might extend 
he knew not where. He could not think, without 
the most serious apprehensions, of entrusting a man 
of his vehement passions wiih such an immense 
power. He could not think without feelings of in- 
describable dread, of the effusion of blood, the den- 
ger to the Union, and the danger to the libeities of 
all of us, which might arise from the application of 
such a force in the hands of a man already too pow- 
erful, and flushed with recent victory. 

It may be further added, that Mr. Clay thought he 
perceived, with some a desire to push matters to ex- 
tremity. He thought he beheld a disposition to see 
South Carolina and the South punished. Indeed 
the sentiment was more than once expressed to him : 
" Let them put down the Tariff— let them brin g ruin, 
'embarrassment and distress on the country — the 
' country will rise with renewed vigor. We shall 
' have the policy, which we wish to prevail, firmly 
' and inviolably fixed." He thought even that he 
perceived a willingness that the effect produced by 
the memorable Hartford Convention at ihe North, 
should be neutralized by the effect, which might 
arise out of putting down by force the nullification 
of South-Carolina. He could not sympathize in 
these feelings and sentiments. He was for peace, 
for harmony, for union, and for the preservation too 
of the Protective System. He no more believed then 
than now, that Government was instituted to make 
great and perilous experiments upon the happiness 
of a free people — still less experiments of blood and 
civil war. 

After the introduction of the bill of Compromise 
and its reference to the Committee, predictions of 



whole policy. He knew, or believed, that there the failure of the measure were confidently put forth, 
was a majority in the House, willing, although afraid Even in the committee-room it was asserted, that 



to pass the bill. Witnessing the progress of that 
party, he did not doubt, that at the next session at 
least, they would acquire strength and courage suf- 
ficient to pass the bill. He could not contemplate 
the ruin, distress and destruction, which would en- 
sue from its passage, without feelings of horror. 
He believed that the Compromise would avert these 
disasters, and secure adequate protection until the 
30th June, 1842. And he hoped, that in the mean 
time the public mind would become enlightened, and 
reconciled to a policy, which he had ever believed 
essential to the national prosperity. But for tile 
partial experiments, which were made upon the cur- 
rency of the country, leading to the utmost disorder 
in the exchanges, and the business ofsocit ty, it is yet 
the belief of Mr. Clay and his friends, that the mea- 
sure of Protection secured by tJie Compromise Act 
up to the 31s* December, 1841, would have enabled 
our Manufacturers to have flourished and pros- 
pered. 

Another leading motive with Mr. Clay, in pro- 
posing the Compromise, was to restore harmony, 
and preserve the Union from danger ; to arrest a 
civil war, which, beginning with South Carolina, 
he feared might spread throughout all the Southern 
States. 

It may be added, that a third and powerful mo- 
tive, which he felt intensely, although he did not 
always avow it, was an invincible repugnance to 
placing under tlie command of General Jackson 



there was no chance for its passage ; and Members 
rose from their places with the intention of leaving 
the room, without agreeing upon any report. Mr. 
Clay said to them, with decision and firmness : 
" Gentlemen, this bill has been referred to us, and it 
' is our duty to report it, in some form or other, to 
' the Senate — and it shall be reported." Some slight 
amendments were agreed upon, and the bill was re- 
ported. Its subsequent fate is known. 

In bringing about the adoption of the measure, 
Messrs. Clayton and Letcher are entitled to the mo6t 
liberal praise, as theeffieient coadjutors of its author. 

The private history of the Compromise Act re- 
mains yet to be written. Should it ever be given to 
the world, it will throw new lustre upon the patri- 
otic and self-sacrificing character of Mr. Clay. It 
will exhibit in a still stronger light his disinterested- 
ness — his devotion to country — his elevation above 
all selfish impulses and personal ends — his magna 
nimity, and his generous intrepidity of spirit. 

The Compromise Bill passed the House Februa- 
ry 2Gth, 1833, by a vote of 120 to 84. It passed the 
Senate the ensuing first of .March by a vote of 29 to 
1G — Mr. Webster voting against it. Mr. Clay was 
now once more hailed as the preserver of the Repub- 
lic — as the great Pacificator. The dark, portentous 
cloud, big with civil discord and disunion, which had 
been hanging over the country, rolled away and was 
scattered. The Sou th and the North were reconciled ; 
and confidence and prosperity were restored. Is not 



Visit to the Eastern Citivs — Enthusiastic Reception. 



51 



such a civic triumph worth all the paeans ever 
shouted in the ears of a military conqueror ? Itplaced 
Mr. Clay in a commanding and elevated position — 
and drew upon him the eyes of the whole Nation as a 
liberal, sound and true-hearted statesman, in whose 
hands the interest." of all sections would be safe. 

The act was characteristic of his whole public ca- 
reer. The only horizon which bounds his political 
vision is the horizon of his country. There is noth- 
ing small, narrow, sectional in his views, interests 
or hopes. North, South, East and West — they are 
all equally dear to him. Kentucky— noble Ken- 
tucky — where he is cherished and hdnored as such 
a Statesman and Patriot ought to be cherished and 
honored by such a gallant and generous constituen- 
cy — he regards with the attachment and devotion, 
v ith which no generous nature can fail to be inspired 
for the soil where his first honors were won, the 
early theatre of his fame and its fruition — the home, 
of his h.^pes and his heart. But he looks abroad from 
the State of his adoption, and down from the pinna- 
cle of his elevation — and there lie Massachusetts, 
and New- York, and the Old Dominion, proud of the 
blended honors of their Lexington, Saratoga and 
Yorktown, radiant with the common glories of their 
Adamses, Hamiltons and Washingtons— and he feels 
that in these glories and honors — in those traditions 
and records of achievements — in the fame of those 
illustrious men, he has himself an equal inheritance 
with any of their children. The influence of this no- 
ble, national spirit pervades the wnole of Mr. Clay's 
public career, and is stamped upon all those great 
measures by which, in moments of exigency and 
darkness, he has revived the desponding hopes and 
retrieved the sinking fortunes of the Union.* 

In the autumn of 1833, Mr. Clay, accompanied by 
his lady, fulfilled a design which he had long con- 
templated, of visiting the Eastern cities. His jour- 
ney was one continued ovation. Arriving at Balti- 
more early in October, he was waited upon by thou- 
sands of citizens, who came to pay their tribute of 
gratitude and respect. At Philadelphia he was re- 
ceived at the Chesnut-street wharf by an immense 
concourse of people with enthusiastic huzzas, and 
conducted to the U. S. Hotel by his friend John Ser- 
geant. Arriving at New- York he was escorted to 
his lodgings by a large procession of gentlemen on 
horseback ; and all parties seemed to unite in their 
testimonials of welcome. A special meeting of the 
Board of Aldermen was held, and the Governor's 
room in the City Hall appropriated to his use, where 
he was visited by a constant succession of citizens. 
At Newport and Providence he was greeted with 
every possible demonstration of welcome and admi- 



* The following passage is an extract from a speech delivered 
by John Tiller in the Virginia House of Delegates, in 1889, in fa- 
vor of the Distribution of the Proceeds of the Public Lands, as re- 
commended by the Kentucky Statesman : 

" In my deliberate opinion, there was but one man, who could 
have arrested the then course of things, (the tendency of Nullifi- 
cation to dissolve the Union.) and that man ws Henry Clay. 
It r irely happens, Mr. Speaker, to the most gifted, and talented, 
and patriotic, to record their names upon the page of history, in 
characters indelible and enduring. But, sir, if to have rescued 
his country from civil wnr—ifto have preserved the Constitu- 
tion and Union from hazard and total wreek, constitute any 

round f ,r an immortal and undying name among men, then I 
_o believe, that he has won for himself that high renown. I speak 
what I do know, for I was an nctirin the scenes of that perilous 
period. When he rose in that Senate Chamber, and held in his 
band the Olive Branch of Peace, I, who had not kniwn whtt 
envy was before, envied him. I W5s proud of him as my fellow- 
ccuntryman, and still prouder that the Slashes of Hanover, 
within the limits of my old District, gave him birth.'' 



I 



ration ; and on reaching Boston he was met and con- 
ducted to the Tremont House by a very numerous 
cavalcade. 

At all these cities, and many others on his route, 
he received pressing invitations to public dinners ; 
but being accompanied by his family, he had, on 
leaving Kentucky, prescribed to himself the rule, to 
which he rigidly adhered, of declining all such invi- 
tations. By all classes in New England, and par- 
ticularly by the manufacturing population, Mr. Clay 
was received as a friend and benefactor. The cor- 
diality of his welcome showed that his motives in 
originating the Compromise Act had been duly ap- 
preciated by those who were most deeply interested 
in the preservation of the American System. He 
visited many of the manufacturing towns, and on all 
occasions met with a reception which indicated how 
strongly the affections of the People were enlisted 
in his favor. At Faneuil Hall and on Bunker Hill, 
he received Addresses from Committees, to which 
he replied in his usual felicitous manner. While at 
Boston, a pair of elegant silver pitchers, weighing 
one hundred and fifty ounces, were presented to him 
by the young men. A great crowd was present; 
and Mr. Clay, though taken by surprise, spoke for 
about half an hour in a manner to enchant his hear- 
ers. The following apposite Toast was offered by- 
one of the young men on the occasion : " Our Gue6t 
and Gift — our Friend and Pitcher!" 

While at Salem, Mr. Clay attended a lecture at 
the Lyceum, when the audience, numbering about 
twelve hundred persons, spontaneously rose, and 
loudly greeted him on his entrance. On the fourth 
of November, he left Boston with his family on his 
return journ* '. He took the route through Massa- 
chuse'ts 'o Albany, passing through Worcester, 
Hartford, !>^ringfie!d, Northampton, Pittsfield, &c. 
and being every where hailed by a grateful People 
with every demonstration of heartfelt attachment 
and reverence. 

At Troy and Albany, the manifestations of popu- 
lar attachment were not less marked than in Massa- 
chusetts. In both places the People rose up as one 
man to do him honor; and at both places he made 
replies to the addresses presented to him, which are 
excellent specimens of his familiar style of elo- 
quence. The multitudes of citizens who met, fol- 
lowed and waited upon him at every point, in rapid 
succession, indicated how large a space he occupied 
in the public heart. As he said in one of the nume- 
rous speeches which he was called upon to make, 
during his tour, "he had been taken into custody, 
' made captive of, but placed withal in such delight- 
' ful bondage, that he could find no strength and no 
' desire to break away from it." 

The popular enthusiasm did not seem to have 
abated as he returned through those cities which he 
had but recently visited. On his way to Washing 
ton, he was met at New-York, Newark, Trenton, 
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore, by delega 
tions of citizens, whose attentions rendered his pro- 
gress one of triumphal interest. He reached the 
Seat of Governmsnt in season to be present at the 
opening of Congress. 



52 



Life of Henry Clay. 



CHAPTER XII. 

The Public Lands— Anecdotes-Mr. Clay's Report— Its provi- 
sions— Passage of the Land Bill— It is Vetoed by Gen. Jackson 
— Right of the Old States to a share in the Public Domain- 
Mr. Clay's efforts— Adjustment of the question— Mr. Van Bu- 
ren's Nomination as Minister to England— Opposed by Mr. 
Clay. 

Mr. Clay's course in regard to the Public Lands 
presents a striking illustration of his patriotic disin- 
terestedness and self-sacrificing devotion to the cause 
of justice. The characteristic traits which he dis- 
played upon this question remind us of an anecdote 
of him, related a few years since by that eminent 
Statesman and high-minded Whig, William C. 
Preston, in a speech at Philadelphia. " On one oc- 
• casion," said Mr. P. " he did me the honor to send 
' for and consult with me. It was in reference to a 
' step* he was about to take, and which will, per- 
' haps, come to your minds without more direct alia- 
' sions. After stating what he proposed, 1 suggested 
1 whether there would not be danger in it — whether 
' such a course would not injure his own prospects, 
1 as well as those of the Whig party in general ? — 
' His reply was — ' 1 did not send for you to ask what 
" might be the effects of the proposed movement on 
" my prospects, but whether it is right. I would 

" RATHER BE RIGHT, THAN BE PRESIDENT.' " 

On the twenty-second of March, 1832, Mr. Bibb, 
of Kentucky, moved an inquiry into the expediency 
of reducing the price of the Public Lands. Mr. Ro- 
binson, of Illinois, moved a further inquiry into the 
expediency of transferring the Public Territory to 
the States within which it lies, upon reasonable 
terms. With the view of embarrassing Mr. Clay, 
these topics were inappropriately referred by the 
Administration party to the Committee on Manufac- 
tures, of which he was a member. It was supposed 
by his enemies that he would make a " bid for the 
Presidency," by favoring the interested States at 
the expense of justice and sound policy. But he 
did not stop to calculate the consequences to him- 
self. He did not attempt to evade or defer the Ques- 
tion. He met it promptly. He expressed his opin- 
ions firmly and boldly; and those opinions, thus 
expressed, wise, equitable, conclusive, were imme- 
diately seized upon for the purpose of breaking him 
down in the New States. The design had been to 
embarrass him by holding out the alternative of baf- 
fling the cupidity of a portion of the People of the 
West, or shocking the sense of justice and invading 
the rights of the Old States — to injuriously affect his 
popularity either with the New or the Old States, 
or with both. But when was Henry Clay known 
to shrink from the responsibility of an avowal of 
opinion upon a question of public moment ? In 
about three weeks after the matter was referred to 
the Committee, he presented to Congress a most 
juminous, able and conclusive lieport, and in the 
L-nl appended to it arranged the details of a wise 
anO •> . jitable plan, which no subsequent legislation 
was ab> 'o improve. 

Mr. City regarded the National Domain in the 
light of a ''cramon fund," to be managed and dis- 
posed of for the "common benefit of all the States," 
This property, he thought, should be prudently and 
providently administered; that it should not be 

* His Speech on Slavery, and the reception of Abolition peti- 
IMU 



wantonly sacrificed at inadequate prices, and that it 
should not be unjustly abandoned, in violation of the 
trust under which it was held, to a favored section 
of the country. These principles were the basis of 
his Bill, which provided — 

I. That after the thirty-first day of December, 
1832, twelve and a half per cent, of the nett proceeds 
of the Public Lands, sold within their limits, should 
be paid to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mis- 
souri and Mississippi, over and above what these 
Stales were severally entitled to by the compacts of 
their admission into the Union; to be applied to In- 
ternal Improvements and purposes of Education 
within those States, under the direction of their Le- 
gislatures — independently of the provisions for the 
construction and maintenance of the Cumberland 
Road. 

II. After this deduction, the nett proceeds were 
to be distributed among the (then) twenty-four 
States, according to their respective Federal Repre- 
sentative population ; to be applied to such objects 
of Internal Improvement, Education, or Coloniza- 
tion, as might be designated by their respective Le- 
gislatures, or the reimbursement of any previous 
debt contracted for Internal Improvements. 

III. The act to continue in force for five years, 
except in the event of a war with any foreign power ; 
and additional provisions to be made for any new 
State that might be meanwhile admitted to the 
Union. 

IV. The minimum price of the public lands not 
to be increased ; and not less than $80,000 per an- 
num to be applied to complete the public surveys. 

V. Land offices to be discontinued in districts 
where for two successive years the proceeds of sales 
should be insufficient to pay the salaries of the of- 
ficers employed. 

VI. That certain designated quantities of land 
should be granted to six of the new States, not to 
be sold at a less price than the minimum price of 
lands sold by the United States, to be applied to In- 
ternal Improvements. 

Such were the simple and just provisions of the 
Land Bill of Mr. Clay. To the new States they 
were abundantly liberal, without violating the terms 
of the original cession by the old States ; for the 
money laid out in the new States for Internal Im- 
provements subject to the use of the United States, 
may be justly regarded as for the " common benefit" 
of the Union. 

The introduction of the report and bill created no 
little surprise and excitement in the Senate. It was 
hardly expected of a candidate for the Presidency, 
that he should have so promptly and peremptorily 
rejected the opportunity, thus temptingly presented, 
of bidding for the votes of the new States by hold 
ing out the prospect at least of aggrandizement. 
But on this subject, as on all others, Mr. Clay took 
the broad national ground. He looked at the ques- 
tion as a statesman, not as a politician. He suffer- 
ed no individual inducements to influence his opi- 
nions or his policy. His paramount sense of duty; 
his habitual sense of the sacredness of compacts 
his superiority to local, sectional, and personal con- 
siderations, were never more conspicuously and 
more honorably manifested than on this occasion. 

The Land Bill was made the special order for the 
20th of June, when it was taken up by Mr. Clay, 



Veto of Mr. Clay's Land Bill by President Jackson. 



53 



»nd advocated with his usual eloquence and ability. 
Mr. Benton replied. His policy was to reduce the 
price of a portion of the Public Lands, and to surren- 
der the residue to the States in which they lie. It 
would have given to the State of Missouri 25,000,000 
of acres, or about 160 acres to every individual in 
the State, black and white ; while the State of New- 
York, by whose blood and treasure, in part, this 
great Domain was acquired, would have been cut 
off without an acre! Various motions were made 
in the Senate for the postponement and amendment 
of Air. Clay's bill. The policy of reducing the price 
was urged with great pertinacity by the friends of 
the Administration; but the objections of the report 
to this policy were justly regarded as unanswera- 
ble and insurmountable; and, on the third of July, 
the bill, essentially in the same form as reported, 
received its final passage in the Senate by a vote of 
20 yeas to 18 nays. The late period of the session 
at which it was sent to the House, and the conflict 
of opinion in that body in respect to some of its pro- 
visions, enabled the Administration to effect its post- 
ponement to the first Monday of the following De- 
cember, by a vote of 91 yeas to 88 nays. 

This, of course, was equivalent to its rejection. 
But such were the wisdom and obvious equity of its 
provisions, and so highly did it commend itself to 
the good sense of the people, that the Administra-. 
tion party was compelled to yield to the uncontrol- 
ftble force of public opinion. At the next session, 
therefore, of Congress, the bill was again taken up, 
and passed the Senate by a vote of 24 to 20, and the 
popular branch by a vote of 96 to 40. It was sent 
to the President for his approval. 

Notwithstanding the unprecedented favor which 
it had found among the immediate Representatives 
of the people, it was " trampled," as Mr. Ben- 
ton subsequently boasted, under the " big foot of 
President Jackson." The dissolution of Congress, 
before the expiration of the constitutional term for 
which he was authorized to retain the bill, enabled 
that self-willed and despotic Chief Magistrate to de 
feat the obvious will of the people. If it had been 
returned to Congress at the session of its passage 
it would have become a law by a two-thirds vote. 
It was therefore withheld, and, at the next session, 
on the 5th of December, 1833, was sent back with 
the veto of the President; and the veto, as we have 
e very reason to believe, sprang from the personal 
hostility of General Jackson toward the author of 
the Land Bill, and an apprehension that it would 
augment the popularity of a rival, whom he feared 
and hated. 

The principles of the Veto Message accorded with 
those which had been already promulgated by Mr. 
Benton. General Jackson declared himself in favor 
of reducing the price of a portion of the Public Lands 
and of surrendering the residue to the States in 
v- hich they lie ; and withdrawing the machinery of 
our land system. He objected to Mr. Clay's plan 
of giving an extra 12\ per cent, of the proceeds of 
the sales within their own limits to the new States, 
as an " indirect and undisguised violation of the 
pledge given by Congress to the States before a sin- 
gle cession was made; abrogating the condition on 
which some of the States came into the Union; and 
petting at nought the terms of cession spread upon 
the face of every granl under which the title of that 



portion of the Public Lands are held by the Federal 
Government." Such were the shocking violationu 
of principle and compact, involved in the limited 
and equitable grant to the new States, contemplated 
by the bill of Mr. Clay; and yet we were gravely 
told by General Jackson, in the same breath, that 
to sell the lands for a nominal price — to withdraw 
the land machinery of the Government altogether — 
to abandon the lands — to surrender the lands — to 
give them to the States in which they lie — " im- 
paired no principle and violated no compact." It 
was a gross violation of compact — it was a flagrant 
outrage upon principle, to surrender a pari — but the 
outrage was repaired, and the compact kept invio- 
late by an abandonment of the whole ! Such was 
the reasoning of the Veto Message ! 

General Jackson had been obliged to change his 
grounds on this question, in order to thwart the 
views of Mr. Clay. In his Annual Message of De- 
cember 4, 1832, he had recommended a measure 
fundamentally similar. But the measure now pre- 
sented to him, though it had passed Congress by 
trrnr shant majorities, had been suggested, although 
not I {J i tarily, by an individual who shared no pait 
in his c unsels or his affections — by one, whom he 
had ungenerously injured, and whom he therefore 
disliked. He preferred the gratification of his malev- 
olence to the preservation of his consistency. The 
consequence was his aibitrary retention of the bill, 
by an irregular and unprecedented proceeding, and 
his subsequent veto. 

The right of the old States to the Public Domain 
is the right of conquest and of compact. Those lands 
were won by the blood and treasure of the thirteen 
Provinces. Their title deeds were signed, sealed 
and delivered on the plains of Yorktown. When 
the clouds of the Revolution had rolled away, and 
the discordant elements of the Confederation were 
taking the shape and system of our present glorious 
Constitution — the sages and soldiers of liberty as- 
sembled for the establishment of a more perfect 
union. To realize this grand end of their labors, 
they recommended to the thirteen States to make a 
common cession of their Territories to the Federal 
Government; that they might be administered for 
their common benefit, and stand as a pledge for the 
redemption of the Public Debt. Patriotic Vir- 
ginia, following the wise councils of her Wash- 
ingtons, Henrys and Jeffersons, surrendered with- 
out a murmur her boundless domain — now the seat 
of numerous new States, and still stretching thou- 
sands of leagues into the unsurveyed and uninhab- 
ited wilderness. Her sister States, though they 
had less to surrender, surrendered all that they pos- 
sessed ; and in return for this liberal and patriotic 
abandonment of local advantages for the common 
good, the Congress of the United States pledged it- 
self by the most solemn compact to administer this 
vast Domain for the common benefit of its original 
proprietors, and of such new States as should there- 
after be admitted to the Union. 

The 2d of May, 1834, Mr. Clay made a report from 
the Committee on Public Lands, in relation to the 
President's return of the Land Bill. In this paper 
he exposes with great ability the inconclusiveneas 
of the President's reasons. For some ten years, Mr. 
Clay was the vigilant, laborious, and finally success- 
ful opponent of the monstrous project of the admin 



54 



Life of Henry Clay. 



istration for squandering the Public Domain and rob- 
bing the old States. To his unremitted exertions we 
shall have been indebted for the successive defeats 
of the advocates of the plunder system, and for the 
final adjustment of the question according to his 
own equitable propositions. By this adjustment, all 
sections of the country are treated with rigid impar- 
tiality. The interest of no one State is sacrificed to 
that of the others. The West, the North, the South 
and the East, all fare alike. A more wise and prov- 
ident system could not have been devised. It will 
Ktand as a perpetual monument of the enlarged pa- 
triotism, unerring sagacity, and uncompromising jus- 
tice of its author. 

The question of confirming Mr. Van Buren's nom- 
ination as Minister to England, came before the Sen- 
ate during the Session of 1831—2. The conduct of 
that gentleman while Secretary of State, in his in- 
structions to Mr. McLane, had excited general dis- 
pleasure. Not content with exerting his ingenuity to 
put his own country in the wrong and the British Gov- 
ernment in the right, Mr. Van Buren had end< avored 
to attach to Mr. Adams's administration the discndit 
of bringing forward unfounded "pretensions," and 
by himself disclaiming those pretensions, to pro- 
pitiate the favor of the British King. Upon the sub- 
ject of the Colonial Trade, he said : " To set vp the 
'acts of the late Administration, as the cause of a 
'Jorfeiture of privileges which would otherwise be 

• extended to the people of the United States, would, 
' under existing circumstances, be unjust in itself, 
' and could not fail to excite their deepest seksibil- 

• ITY." 

The parasitical, anti-American spirit displayed 
throughout these celebrated instructions, constituted 
a sufficient ground for the rejection of Mr. Van Bu- 
ren's nomination. Mr. Clay's personal relations to- 
ward that individual had always been of a friendly 
character, but he did not allow them to influence his 
sense of public justice. He addressed the Senate 
emphatically against the nomination, declaring that 
his main objection arose out of the instructions; the 
offensive passages in which he quoted. 

"On our side," said he, " according to Mr. Van 
Buren, all was wrong; on the British side, all was 
right. We brought forward nothing but claims and 
pretensions ; the British Government asserted on the 
other hand a clear and incontestible right. We erred 
in tod tenaciously and too long insisting upon our 
pretentions, and not yielding at once to their just de- 
mands. And Mr. McLane was commanded to avail 
himself of all the circumstances in his power to mit- 
igate our offence, and to dissuade the British Gov- 
ernment from allowing their feelings justly incurred 
by the past conduct of the party driven from power, 
to have an adverse influence toward the American 
party now in power. Sir, was this becoming lan- 
guage from one independent nation to another ? Was 
it proper in the mouth of an American minister 1 
Was it in conformity with the high, unsullied, and 
dignified character of our previous diplomacy ? Was 
it not, on the contrary, the language of an humble 
vassal to a proud and haughty lord? Was it not 
prostrating and degrading the American Eagle be- 
fore the British Lion 1 " 

The nomination of Mr. Van Buren was rejected 
in the Senate by the casting vote of the Vice Presi- 
dent, Mr. Calhoun. It has been said that this act 
was a blunder in policy on the part of the Opposi 



him to the sympathy and vindicatory favor of hia 
party. All this may be true; but it does not affect 
the principle of the measure. Mr. Clay did not lack 
the sagacity to foresee its probable consequences; 
but, where the honor of his country was concerned, 
expediency was with him always an inferior consid- 
eration. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Currency Question— Gen. Jackson's " humble efforts" to 
Improve our Condition— Recharter of the U. S. Bonk, am 1 the 
President's Veto— Mr. Clay's Speech upon the subject— Char- 
acter of the Veto Power— Removal of the Deposits— Secreta- 
ries Dunne and Taney— Mr. Clay's relations toward the Bank 
— His Resolutions in regard to the Removal of the Deposits — 
His Speech— Anecdote — Passage of Mr. Clay's Resolutions — 
The Protest— Its Doctrines— Eloquent Debates in the Senrte — 
Mr. Leigh— Interesting Incident — The Proteit Excluded from 
the Journal— Unremitted exertions of Mr. Clay— Public Dis- 
tress — Memorials — Forcible Comparison — The Panic Session — 
Anecdote— Mr. Clay's Departure for Kentucky— Serious Ac- 
cident. 

For the last twelve years the country has been 
kept in a fever of perpetual excitement, or in a siate 
of alternate paralysis and convulsion, by the agita- 
tion of the Currency question. General Jackson 
found us in 1829 in a condition of general prosperity. 
The Government was administered with Republican 
economy. The Legislature, the Judiciary and the 
Executive, every one wielding its constitutional 
powers, moved on harmoniously in their respective 
spheres; and the result was a system that secured 
the happiness of the people and challenged the ad- 
miration of the civilized world. Commerce, agricul- 
ture, manufactures and the mechanic arts flourished ; 
lending mutual aid, and enjoying a common pros- 
perity, fostered by the Government and diffusing 
blessings among the community. The banking sy s- 
tem was sound throughout the States. Ourcurren- 
cy was uniform in value, and the local banks were 
compelled to restrict their issues to their ability of 
redemption in specie. There was no wild specula- 
tion. Industrious enterprise was the only source of 
fortune. Labor was amply employed, abundantly 
compensated, and safe in the enjoyment of its wages. 
The habits of the people were simple and democrat- 
ic. Our foreign credit was without a stain, and the 
whole machinery of Government, trade and curren- 
cy, had been brought to a state approaching the ut- 
most limit to be attained by human ingenuity and 
human wisdom. 

In 1830, Gen. Jackson commenced his " humbls 
efforts" for improving our condition. He advised, in 
his message of that year, the establishment of a 
Treasury Bank, with the view, among other things, 
of " strengthening the States," by leaving in their 
hands " the means of furnishing the local paper cur- 
rency through their own banks." This was hia 
original plan, and in this message we hear nothing 
of a better currency, or the substitution of the pre- 
cious metals for bank paper. In the following year 
he again brought the subject before Congress, and 
left it to the " investigation of an enlightened people 
and their representatives." The investigation took 
place; and Congress passed a bill for the rechartcr 
of the United States Bank. This bill was peremp 
torily vetoed by General Jackson, who condemned 
it as premature, and modestly remarked in regard to 



a Bank, " Had the Executive been called upon to 
tion in the Senate— that it made a political martyr j furnish the project of such an institution, the duty 
of a wily and intriguing antagonist, and commended | would have been cheerfully performed." 



The Veto Power — Removal of the Deposits. 



55 



Mr. Clay was one of the foremost in denouncing 
„ie extraordinary doctrines of this Veto Message. 
On the 12th of July, 1832, he addressed the Senate 
upon the subject. We have already given an ex- 
position of his views upon the question of a Bank. 
They are too well known to the Country to require 
reiteration in this place. They have been frankly 
avowed on all fitting occasions. Touching the Veto 
power, that monarchical feature in our Constitution, 
his opinions were such as might have been expected 
from the leader of the Democratic Party of 1815. He 
considered it irreconcilable with the genius of a Rep- 
resentative Government; and cited »he Constitution 
of Kentucky, by which, if after the rejection of a 
bill by the Governor, it shall be passed by a 
majority of all the members elected to both Houses, 
it becomes a law notwithstanding the Governor's 
objection. 

The abuses to which this power has been sub- 
jected under the Administrations of Jackson and 
Tyler, call loudly for an amendment of the Federal 
Constitution. The veto of a single magistrate on a 
bill passed by a numerous body of popular Repre- 
sentatives, immediately expressing the opinion of all 
classes of the community, and all sections of the 
country, indicates obviously an enormous preroga- 
tive. It must so strike every one who has ever rea- 
soned on Government. When the People of Paris 
called upon Mirabeau to save them from the grant 
of such a power, telling him that, if granted, all 
was lost, they spoke a sentiment that is as universal 
as the sense and spirit of Liberty. When we reflect 
that no King of" England has dared to exercise this 
power since the year 1692, we cannot but feel that 
there must have been good reason in the jealousy of 
the People, and in the apprehension of the Crown. 
Mr. Burke, in his celebrated letter to the Sheriff of 
Bristol, observes, in reference to the exercise of this 
power by the King, that it is " wisely forborne. Its 
' repose may be the preservation of its existence, 
' and its existence may be the means of saving the 
' Constitution itself, on an occasion worthy of 
' bringing it forth.'" So high a power was it con- 
sidered by Mr. Jefferson, that he was at one time 
decidedly in favor of associating the Judiciary with 
the Executive in its exercise. 

It is in this light that the. Veto power should be 
considered — as a most serious and sacred one, to be 
exercised only on emergencies worthy to call it 
forth. On all questions of mere opinion, mere ex- 
pediency, the Representatives of the People are the 
best, as they are the legitimate judges. 

The monstrous doctrine had been advanced by 
General Jackson, in his Veto Message, that every 
public officer may interpret the Constitution as he 
pleases. On this point Mr. Clay said, with great 
cogency : — " I conceive, with great deference, that 
' the President has mistaken the purport of the oath 
' to support the Constitution of the United States. 
' No one swears to support it as he understands it, 
' but to support it simply as it is in truth. All men 
' are bound to obey the laws, of which the Con- 
' stitution is the supreme ; but must they obey them 
1 as they are, or as they understand them ? If the 
' obligation of obedience is limited and controlled 
' by the measure of information ; in other words, if 
' the party is bound to obey the Constitution only 
1 08 l'# urr'erstiDds 't what would be the conse- 



'quence? There would be general disorder and 
'confusion throughout every branch of Adminis- 
1 tration, from the highest to the lowest officers — 
' universal Nullification." 

During the Session of 1832-3, General Jackson 
declared that the Public Deposits were not safe in 
the vaults of the United States Bank, and called 
upon Congress to look into the subject and to 
augment what he then considered the " limited 
powers " of the Secretary of the Treasury over the 
Public Money. Congress made the desired inves- 
tigation, and the House of Representatives, by a 
vote of 109 to 46, declared the Deposits to be per- 
fectly safe. Resolved on gratifying his feelings of 
personal animosity toward the friends of the Bank, 
General Jackson did not allow this explicit declara- 
tion on the part of the immediate Agents of the 
People to shake his despotic purpose. During the 
Autumn of 1833, he resolved upon that most arbi- 
trary of arbitrary measures, the removal of the 
Deposits. The Cabinet Council, to whom he 
originally proposed this measure, are said to have 
disapproved of it in the most decided terms. Mr. 
McLane, the Secretary of the Treasury, refused to 
lend to it his assistance. He was accordingly 
translated to the office of Secretary of State, made 
vacant by the appointment of Mr. Livingston to the 
French Mission; and William J. Duane of Phila- 
delphia took his place at the Head of the Treasury 
Department. Mr. Duan?, however, did not turn out 
to be the pliable tool which the President had ex- 
pected to find him. On the 20th of September, 
1833. it was authoritatively announced to the pub- 
lic that the Deposits would be removed. The next 
day Mr. Duane made known to the President his 
resolution, neither voluntarily to withdraw from his 
post nor to be made the instrument of illegally 
removing the Public Treasures. The consequence 
was, the rude dismission of the independent Secre- 
tary from office on the 23d of September. Mr. 
Taney, who had sustained the views of the Presi- 
dent, was made his successor; and the People's 
Money was removed from the Depository where the 
law had placed it, and scattered among irrespon- 
sible State Institutions under the control of greedy 
partisans. 

The Congressional Session of 1833-4, was one of 
extraordinary interest, in consequence of the dis- 
cussion of this high-handed measure. 

In his Message to Congress, the President said : 
" Since the adjournment of Congress, the Secretary 
' of the Treasury has directed the Money of the 
' United States to be deposited in certain State 
' Banks designated by him ; and he will imme- 
' diately lay before you his reasons for this direc- 
' tion. I concur with him entirely in the view he 
' has taken of the subject ; and, some months before 
: the removal, I urged upon the Department the pro- 
' priety of taking the step." The ' reasons ' adduced 
by Mr. Taney for lending his aid to the seizure of the 
Public Money, were such as might have been ex- 
pected from an adroit lawyer. However satisfac- 
tory they might have been to General Jackson and 
his party, they were utterly insufficient to justify the 
act in the eyes of dispassionate and clear-minded 
men. Mr. Taney undertook to sustain his position 
by a precedent w' v.h he assumed to find in a letter 
addressed by Mr. Crawford, when Sep retary of Jj» 



56 



Life of Henry Clay 



Treasury, to the President of the Mechanics' Bank 
of New-York. On the 19th of December, Mr. Clay 
introduced Resolutions into the Senate calling upon 
Mr. Taney for a copy of the letter, an extract from 
which he had cited in his Report. 

In his remarks upon the occasion of presenting 
these Resolutions, Mr. Clay made some observa- 
tions in regard to his own personal relations toward 
the Bank. An individual high in office had allowed 
himself to assert that a dishonorable connection had 
subsisted between him (Mr. C.) and that Institution. 
Mr. Clay said that when the Chaiter, then existing, 
was granted, he voted for it ; and, having done so, 
he did not feel himself at liberty to subscribe, and 
he did not subscribe for a single share in the Stock 
of the Bank, although he confidently anticipated a 
great rise in its value. A few years afterward, 
during the Presidency of Mr. Jones, it was thought 
by some of his friends at Philadelphia, expedient to 
make him (Mr. C.) a Director of the Bank of the 
United States; and he was made a Director, 
without any consultation with him. For that pur- 
pose, five shares were purchased for him by a 
friend, for which he (Mr. C.) afterward paid. 
When he ceased to be a Director, a short time sub- 
sequently, he disposed of those shares; since which 
time he has never been proprietor of a single share. 

When Mr. Cheves was appointed President of the 
Bank, its affairs in the States of Kentucky and Ohio 
were in great disorder; and Mr. Clay's professional 
services were engaged during several years for the 
Bank in those States. He brought a vast number 
of suits, and transacted a great amount of profes- 
sional business for the Bank. Among other suits, 
was one for the recovery of $100,000, seized under 
the authority of a law of Ohio, which he carried 
through the Inferior and Supreme Courts. He was 
paid by the Bank the usual compensation for these 
services and no more. No professional fees were 
ever more honestly and fairly earned. For upwards 
of eight years past, however, he had not been the 
counsel (or the Bank. He did not owe the Bank, 
or any of its Branches, a solitary cent. Some twelve 
or fifteen years before, owing to the failure of a 
friend, a large amount of debt had been thrown upon 
Mr. Clay, as his endorser ; and it was principally 
due to the Bank of the United States. Mr. Clay 
commenced a system of rigid economy— established 
for himself a sinking fund — worked hard, and paid 
off the debt without receiving from the Bank the 
slightest favor. 

The resolutions of Mr. Clay, calling upon the 
Secretary of the Treasury for a copy of the letter, 
said to have been written by Mr. Crawford, passed 
the Senate ; and on the 13th of December, a com- 
munication was received from Mr. Taney, the char- 
acter of which was evasive and unsatisfactory. The 
Senate had asked for documents, and he gave them 
arguments. In reference to Mr. Crawford's opinions, 
Mr. Clay said, that although there was plausibility 
in the construction, which the Secretary had givtn 
to them, yet he, (Mr. Clay) would undertake to 
show that the opinions ascribed to Mr. Crawford in 
reference to the Bank Charter, were never asserted 
by him. 

On the 2Gth of December, 1833, Mr. Clay laid the 
following resolutions before the Senate : 

1 1. Resolved, That, by dismissing the late Sec- 



retary of the Treasury, because he would not, con- 
trary to his sense of his own duty, remove ihe mo- 
ney of the United States in deposit with the Bank of 
the United States and Branches, in conformity with 
the President's opinion; and by appointing his suc- 
cessor to effect such removal, which has been done, 
the President has assumed the exercise of a power 
over the Treasury of the United States, not granted 
by the Constitution and Laws, and dangerous to ih« 
liberties of the people. 

" 2. Resolved, That the reasons assigned by the 
Secretary of the Treasury, for the removal of the 
money of the United States from the United States 
Bank and its Branches, communicated to Congress 
on the 3d day of December, 1833, are unsatisfactory 
and insufficient." 

Mr. Clay's speech in support of the resolutions 
was delivered partly on the 26th and partly on the 
30th of December ; and it is one of the most mas- 
terly efforts of eloquence ever heard within the walls 
of the Capitol. In force and amplitude of argu- 
ment, variety and appropriateness of illustratioM, 
and energy of diction, it is equalled by few oratori- 
cal productions in the English language. During 
its delivery, the Lower House was almost deserted ; 
and the galleries of the Senate Chamber were filled 
by a mutely attentive audience, whose enthusiasm 
occasionally broke forth in unparliamentary bursts 
of applause — a demonstration, which is rarely eli- 
cited except when the feelings are aroused to an ex- 
traordinary degree. 

In his exordium, Mr. Clay briefly glanced at some 
of the principal usurpations and abuses of die Ad- 
ministration : 

"We are," said he, "in the midst of a revolution, 
hitherto bloodless, but rapidly tending towards a 
total change of the pure Republican character of the 
Government, and to the concentration of all power 
in the hands of one man. The powers of Congress 
are paralyzed, except when exerted in conformity 
with his will, by a frequent and extraordinary exer- 
cise of the Executive Veto, not anticipated by the 
founders of the Constitution, and not practised by 
any of the predecessors of the present Chief Magis- 
trate. And, to cramp them still more, a new expe- 
dient is springing into use, of withholding altogeiher 
bills which have received the sanction of both 
Houses of Congress, thereby cutting off all oppor- 
tunity of passing them, even if, after their return, the 
members should be unanimous in their favor. The 
Constitutional participation of the f-enate in the ap- 
pointing power is virtually abolished by the con- 
stant use of the power of removal from office, with- 
out any known cause, and by the appointment of 
the same individual to the same office, after his re- 
jection by the Senate. How often have we, Sena- 
tors, felt that the check of the Senate, instead of be- 
ing, as the Constitution intended, a salutary control, 
was an idle ceremony ? #*# **#* 
" The Judiciary has not been exempted from the 
prevailing rage for innovation. Decisions of the 
tribunals deliberately pronounced have been con- 
temptuously disregarded, and the sanctity of numer- 
ous Treaties openly violated. Our Indian relations, 
coeval with the existence of the Government, and 
recognized and established by numerous laws and 
treaties, have been subverted ; the rights of the 
helpless and unfortunate aborigines trampled in the 
dust, and they brought under subjection to un- 
known laws, in which they have no voice, pro- 
mulgated in an an unknown language. The most 
extensive and most valuable Public Domain, that 
ever fell to the lot of one Nation, is threatened 
with a total sacrifice. The general currency of 
the country — the life-blood of all its business — is 
in the most imminent danger of universal disorder 
and confusion. The power of Internal Improve- 



Passage of Mr. Clay's Resolution — The Protest — Mr. Leigh on the Compromise. 57 



ment lies crushed beneath the Veto. The system 
of Protection of American Industry was snatch- 
ed from impending destruction at the last session ; 
but we are now cooliy told by the Secretary of 
the Treasury, without a blush, 'that it is under- 
stood to be conceded on all hands, that a Tariff for 
Protection merely is to be finally abandoned.' By 
the 3d of March, 1837, rf the progress of innovation 
continue, there will be scarcely a vestige remaining 
of the Government and its policy, as it existed prior 
to the 3d of March, 1829." 

In the paper read to his Cabinet on the 18th of 
September, 1833, and afterwards published in the 
newspapers, but which he refused to communicate to 
the Senate, when called upon by them so to do, Pre- 
sident Jackson is made to employ terms of blandish- 
ment toward his new Secretary of the Treasury, as 
if to gild the shackles of dictation imposed by Exe- 
cutive power in regard to the removal of the de- 
posits. He says, he trust3 that the Secretary will 
see in his remarks, " only the frank and respectful 
' declarations of the opinions which the President 

• has formed on a measure of great National interest, 

• deeply affecting the character and usefulness of 

• his Administration, and not a spirit of dictation, 
'which the President would be as careful to avoid, 
' as ready to resist." 

Mr. Clay very happily illustrates the hypocrisy 
of this deferential language. " Sir, it reminds me 
of an historical anecdote related of one of the most 
remarkable characters which our species has ever 
produced. While Oliver Cromwell was contending 
for the mastery of Great Britain or Ireland, (I do 
not now remember which,) he besieged a certain 
Catholic town. The place made a stout resistance; 
but at length the town being likely to be taken, the 
poor Catholics proposed terms of capitulation, 
stipulating therein for the toleration of their reli- 
gion. The paper containing the terms was brought 
to Oliver, who, putting on his spectacles to read it, 
cried out : ' Oh, granted, granted ! certainly ! He, 
however, added — ' but if one of them shall dare be 
found attending Mass, he shall be hanged !' — (under 
which section is not mentioned — whether under a 
second, or any other section, of any particular law, 
we are not told.") 

After proving what is now notorious to the whole 
country, that the Removal of the Deposits was the 
act of General Jackson and of him alone, and that 
the Secretary of the Treasury was merely the cat's- 
paw in the accomplishment of the seizure, Mr. Clay 
proceeded to show that it was in violation of the 
Constitution and laws of the United States. His 
argument on this point is faithful and conclusive. 

We regret that our limited space prevents us from 
quoting freely from this interesting speech. It con- 
tains a succinct history of all the financial exploits 
of General Jackson and his subservient Secretary up 
to the period of its delivery ; and is as valuable for 
its documentary facts as it is interesting for the 
vigor and animation of its style, and the impregna- 
bility of its arguments. 

The resolution declaring the insufficiency of the 
reasons assigned by the Secretary of the Treasury 
for the Removal of the Deposits, having been refer- 
red to the Committee on Finance, at the head of 
which was Mr. Webster, was reported with a recom- 
mendation that it be adopted. The question upon 
the resolution was not taken till the 28th of March, 



when it was passed by the Senate, 28 to 18. At the 
instance of some of his friends, Mr. Clay then modi- 
fied his other resolution, so as to read as follows: 

" Resolved, That the President, in the late execu- 
tive proceedings in relation to the Public Revenue, 
has assumed upon himself authority and power not 
conferred by the Constitution and Laws, but in dero- 
gation of both." 

The resolution was adopted by the following vote : 
Yeas— Messrs. Bibb, Black, Calhoun, Clay, Clay- 
ton, Ewing, Frelinghuysen, Kent, Knight, Leigh, 
Mangum, Naudain, Poindexter, Porter, Prentiss, 
Preston, Robbins, Silsbee, Smith, Southard, 
Sprague, Swift, Tomlinson, Tyler, Waggaman, 
Webster— 26. 

Nays— Messrs. Benton, Brown, Forsyth, Grundy, 
Hendricks, Hill, Kane, King of Alabama, King o 
Georgia, Linn, McKean, Moore, Morris, Robinson, 
Shepley, Tallmadge, Tipton, White, Wilkins, 
Wright— 20. 

The passage of Mr. Clay's resolution drew forth 
from the President the celebrated Protest, which wag 
communicated to the Senate the 17th of April, 1833. 
This document was of a most novel and unprecedent- 
ed character, and gave rise to debates, which will 
always be memorable in our legislative annals. The 
assumptions of the President were truly of a kind to 
excite alarm among the friends of our Republican 
system. In this extraordinary paper he maintains, 
that he is responsible for the acts of every Executive 
officer, and that all the powers given by law are 
vested in him as the head and fountain of all. He 
alludes to the Secretary of the Treasury as his Sec- 
retary, and says that Congress cannot take from the 
Executive the control of the Public Money. His 
doctrine is, that the President should, under his oath 
of office, sustain the Constitution as he understands 
it; not as the Judiciary may expound, or Congress 
declare it. From these principles, he infers that all 
subordinate officers are merely the executors of his 
supreme will, and that he has the right to discharge 
them whenever he may please. 

These monstrous and despotic assumptions, tran- 
scending as they do the prerogatives claimed by most 
of the monarchs of Europe, afforded a theme for elo- 
quent discussion, which was not neglected by the 
opposition, who then constituted the majority in the 
Senate. Mr. Poindexter, of Mississippi protested 
against the reception of such a paper from the Pres- 
ident ; and moved that it be not received. Mr. 
Sprague, of Maine, exposed its fallacies, and de- 
nounced its doctrines in spirited and indignant terms. 
The Senators from New-Jersey, Messrs. Freling- 
huysen and Southard, expressed their astonishment 
and indignation in strong and decided language. 
Mr. Benton, "solitary and alone," stood forth as the 
champion of the President and the Protest. 

The next day (April 18tb) the consideration of Mr. 
Poindexter's motion was resumed; and Mr. Leigh, 
of Virginia, addressed the Senate for about two hours 
in a speech of rare ability. Toward its conclusion 
an unusual incident occurred. Mr. King, of Ala- 
bama, had claimed for the President the merit of ad- 
justing the Tariff question. He might, with quite as 
much truth, have claimed for him the merit of wri- 
ting the Declaration of Independence. Mr. Leigh, 
in reply to this assumption, spoke as follows : 

" Sir, I cannot but remember, that during the anx- 
ious winter of 1832-3, when South Carolina, under 
a deep sense of injustice and oppression, (whether 



58 



Life of Henry Clay. 



well or ill founded, it is immaterial now to inquire,) 
was exerting her utmost efforts (no matter now 
whether wisely or not) to bring about a relaxation of 
the system— when all men were trembling under the 
apprehension of Civil War— trembling from the con- 
viction, that if such a contest should arise, let it ter- 
minate how it might, it would put our present insti- 
tutions in jeopardy, and end either in Consolida- 
tion or Disunion— for, I am persuaded, that the 
first drop of blood which shall be shed in a civil 
strife between the Federal Government and any 
Stale, will flow from an immedicable wound, that 
none may hope ever to see healed — I cannot but re- 
member that the President, though wielding such 
vast power and influence, never contributed the 
least aid to bring about the compromise that saved 
us from the evils which all men, I believe, and I 
certainly, so much dreaded. The men are not pre- 
sent to whom we are chiefly indebted for that com- 
promise ; and I am glad they are absent, since it 
enables me to speak of their conduct as I feel, with- 
out restraint from a sense of delicacy — 1 raise my 
humble voice in gratitude for that service to Henry 
Clay of the Senate, and Robert P. Letcher of the 

House of Representatives " 

Here Mr. Leigh was interrupted by loud and pro- 
longed plaudits in the gallery. The Vice President 
suspended the discussion, and ordered the galleries 
to be cleared. While the Sergeant-at-Arms was in 
the act of fulfilling this order, the applause was re- 
peated. Mr. Benton moved that the persons ap- 
plauding should be taken into custody ; but before 
the motion could be considered, the galleries were 
vacated and order was restored. 

On the 21st of April, another message was receiv- 
ed from the President, being a sort of codicil to the 
Protest, in which he undertook to explain certain 
passages, which he feared had been misapprehended. 
Mr. Poindexter withdrew his original motion, and 
substituted four resolutions, in which it was embod- 
ied. These resolutions were modified by Mr. Clay, 
and an amendment suggested by Mr. Calhoun was 
adopted. Messrs. Clayton, Webster. Preston, Ew- 
i»g, Mangum, and others, addressed the Senate elo- 
quently on various occasions upon the subject 
of the Protest; and, on the 30th of April, Mr. Clay, 
the resolution of Mr. Poindexter still pending, made 
his well-known speech. Although the subject 
seemed to have been exhausted by the accomplished 
speakers who had preceded him, it was at once re- 
invested with the charms of novelty in his hands. 
The speech contains the most complete and faithful 
picture of Jacksonism ever presented to the country. 
The Resolutions of Mr. Poindexter passed the Se- 
nate, by a vote of 27 to 16. on the seventh of May. 
They exclude the Protest from the Journals, and 
declare that the President of the United States has 
no right to send a Protest to the Senate against any 
of its proceedings. 

On the twenty-eighth of May, 1834, Mr. Clny in- 
troduced two joint Resolutions, reasserting what 
had been already declared by Resolutions of the Se- 
nate, that the reasons assigned by the Secretary of 
the Treasury to Congress, for the Removal of the 
Public Deposits, were insufficient and unsatisfac- 
tory ; and providing that, from and after the first day 
ol July ensuing, all Deposits which might accrue 
from the Public Revenue, subsequent to that period, 
should he placed in the Bank of the United States 
and itd Branches, pursuant to the lGth section of the 
Act to Incorporate the Subscribers to the United 
States Bank. 



In 



presenting these Resolutions, Mr. Clay re- 
marked that, whatever might be their fate at the 
other end of the Capitol or in another building, that 
consideration ought to have no iufluence on the 
course of the Senate. The Resolutions were adopt- 
ed and sent to the House, where they were laid up- 
on the table, and, as was anticipated, never acted 
upon. 

The labors of Mr. Clay during the celebrated ses- 
sion of 1833-4, appear to have been arduous and in- 
cessant. On every important question that came 
before the Senate, he spoke, showing himself the 
ever-vigilant and active opponent of Executive usur- 
pation. Immediately after the withdrawal of the 
Public Money from the United States Bank, and 
before the " Pet Banks," to which the treasure had 
been transferred, had created an unhealthy plethora 
in the Currency by their consequent expansions, the 
distress among the People began to manifest itself 
in numerous memorials to Congress, protesting 
against the President's financial experiments, and 
calling for relief. Many of these memorials were 
communicated to the Senate through Mr. Clay, and 
he generally accompanied their presentation with a 
brief but pertinent speech. His remarks on present- 
ing a memorial from Kentucky, on the twenty-sixth 
of February, 1834— and from Troy, the fourteenth of 
April— are. eloquent expositions of the financial con- 
dition of the country at those periods. In his speech 
of the fifth of February, on a motion to print addi- 
tional copies of the Report of the Committee on Fi- 
nance, to whom had been referred the Report of the 
Secretary of the Treasury in regard to the Removal 
of the Deposits, we find the following just and forci- 
ble image : 

" The idea of uniting thirt} or forty local Barrks 
for the establishment and security of an equal Cur- 
rency could never be realized. As well might the 
crew of a national vessel be put on board thirty or 
forty bark canoes, tied together by a grape-vine, and 
sent out upon the troubled ocean, while the billows 
were rising mountain-high, and the tempest was ex- 
hausting its rage on the foaming element, in the hope 
that they might weather the siorm, and reach their 
distant destination in safety. The People would be 
contented with no such fleet of bark canoes, with 
Admiral Taney in their command. Thev would be 
heard again calling out for Old Ironsides," which had 
never failed them in the hour of trial, whether amidst 
the ocean's storm, or in the hour of battle." 

This session, generally known as the " Panic Ses- 
sion," was one of the most remarkable that have 
ever occurred in the progress of our Government. 
Never was there collected in the Senate a greater 
amount of eminent ability. For weeks together tho 
Whigs poured forth a torrent of eloquent denuncia- 
tions, in every form, against thut high-handed mea- 
sure, the Removal of the Deposits. This was most 
generally done on the occasion of presenting peti- 
tions or memorials from the People against it. (Jo 
into the Senate Chamber any morning durinar this 
interesting period, and you would find some Whig 
on his feet, expatiating on the pernicious consequen- 
ces of that most disastrous proceeding. It was ihen 
that they predicted the evil effects of it, since so fa- 
tally and exactly realized. 

Mr. Clay was among the most aclive and eloquent 
of these distinguished champions of the People. No 
one exhibited so great a variety of weapons of attack 
upon the Administration, or so consummate a skill 



Appeal to the Vice President — Anecdotes. 



59 



in the use of them. Early in March, 1834, a Com- 
mittee from Philadelphia arrived in Washington 
with a memorial from a large body of Mechanics, de 
piciing the state of prostration and distress produced 
among all the laboring classes, by the high-handed 
and pernicious measures of the Administration. In 
presenting this memorial, Mr. Clay took occasion to 
deviate somewhat from the beaten track of debate. 
He made a direct appeal to the Vice President, Mr. 
Van Buren, charging him with the delivery of a 
message to the Executive. After glancing at the 
gloomy condition of the country, he remarked that 
it was in the power of the Chief Magistrate to adopt 
a measure which, in twenty four hours, would afford 
an efficacious and substantial remedy, and reestab- 
lish confidence ; and those who, in that Chamber, 
supported the Administration, could not render a 
better service than to repair to the Executive Man- 
sion, and, placing before the Chief Magistrate the 
naked and undisguised truth, prevail upon him to 
retrace his steps and abandon his fatal experiment. 

" No one, Sir," continued Mr. Clay, turning to 
the Vice President, " can perforin that duty with 
' more propriety than yourself. You can, if you 
' will, induce him to change his course. To you, 
' then, Sir, in no unfriendly spirit, but with feelings 
' softened and subdued by the deep distress which 
' pervades every class of our countrymen, I make 
' the appeal. By your official and personal rela- 
' tions with the President, you maintain with him 
'an intercourse which I neither enjoy nor covet. 
' Go to him and tell him without exaggeration, but 
' in the language of truth and sincerity, the actual 
1 condition of his bleeding Country. Tell him it is 
' nearly ruined and undone by the measures which 
'he has been induced to put in operation. Tell 
' him that his experiment is operating on the Nation 
' like the philosopher's experiment upon a convulsed 
« animal in an exhausted receiver; and that it must 
'expire in agony if he does not pause, give it fresh 
' and sound circulation, and suffer the energies of 
' the People to be revived and restored. Tell him 
' that in a single city more than sixty bankruptcies, 
' involving a loss of more than fifteen millions of 
'dollars, have occurred. Depict to him, if you 
' can find language for the task, the heart-rending 
■ wretchedness of thousands of the Working Classes. 
' Tell him how much more true glory is to be won 
• by retracing false steps than by blindly rushing on 
' until the country is overwhelmed in bankruptcy 
' and ruin. Entreat him to pause." 

In this strain Mr. Clay proceeded for nearly twenty 
minutes. Nothing could be more eloquent, touch 
ing and unanswerable than the appeal, although, of 
course, it failed of effect. " Well, Mr. Van Buren, 
did you deliver the message I charged you with?" 
asked Mr. Clay, as he met the Vice President in the 
Senate Chamber the next morning before the day's 
session had commenced. 

The reply of Mr. Van Buren is not recorded. 
That gentleman, however, was never celebrated for 
his powers of repartee. During the period of his 
Vice Presidency, Mr. Clay dined with him on one 
occasion in company with the Judges of the United 
States Court, the Heads of Departments, and others. 
Conversation at dinner glanced at the fact that Tory 
Ministers, both in England and in France, were more 
disposed than Whig Ministers to do justice to the 



United States, and deal liberally with them in all 
international negotiations. All the parties present 
agreed as to the fact ; and turning suddenly to Mr. 
Van Buren, Mr. Clay said :— " If you will permit 
me, I will propose a toast." " With great pleasure," 
returned the Vice President. " I propose," said Mr. 
Clay, " Tory Ministers in England and France, 
and a Whig Ministry in the United Stales." 
The toast was drunk with great cordiality by the 
company, Mr. Van Buren affecting to laugh, but 
blushing at the same time up to the eyes, and evi- 
dently nonplussed for a retort. 

The message addressed by Mr. Clay to the Vice 
President recalls to mind another, which he re- 
quested the late Mr. Grundy to deliver to President 
Jackson. It was the last of February, 1833, when 
the Land Bill was pending. " Tell General Jack- 
son," said Mr. Clay, " that if he will sign that bill I 
will pledge myself to retire from Congress and never 
enter public life again." Mr. Grundy, who was an 
amiable and remarkably good-natured person, said : 
" No, I ca n't deliver that message ; for we may have 
use for you hereafter." This was, it will be remem- 
bered, at the session when the Compromise passed. 

The First Session of the Twenty-Third Congress 
terminated the 30th of June, 1834, and Mr. Clay, 
after his prolonged and laborious exertions in 
behalf of the Constitution and the Laws, set 
out immediately on his journey home. As the 
stage-coach, in which he was proceeding from 
Charlestown toward Winchester in Virginia, was 
descending a hill, it was overturned, and a worthy 
young gentleman, Mr. Humrickhouse, son of the 
Contractor, was instantly killed by being crushed 
by the vehicle. He was seated by the side of the 
driver. Mr. Clay was slightly injured. The acci- 
dent happened in consequence of a defect in the 
breast-chain, which gave way. On his arrival aj 
Winchester, Mr. Clay was invited to a Public Din- 
ner, which he declined, as well on account of his 
desire to reach home, as because of this melancholy 
accident, which disqualified him for immediate en- 
joyment at the festive board. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Our Claims on France— Hostile tone of General Jackson's Mes 
snge of 1834— Recommends Reprisals— Mr. Clay s Report on 
the subject— Discussion— Unanimous adoption of his Resolu- 
tion— Effect of the Message— Speech on presenting the Chero- 
kee Memorial— Executive Patronage— The Cumberland Road. 

The most important question which came before 
Congress at its Second Session, in 1834-5, was that 
of our Relations with France. The claims of our 
citizens upon that Government for aggressions upon 
our Commerce between the years 1800 and 1817 
had been repeatedly admitted; but no decided steps 
toward a settlement had been taken until the 4th of 
July, 1831, when a Treaty was ratified, by which it 
was agreed, on the part of the Frencn, that the sum 
of twenty-five millions of francs should be paid to 
the United States as an indemnity. By the terms 
of the Treaty, the first instalment was to be paid at 
the expiration of one year after the exchange of the 
ratifications. 

The French Government having failed in the per- 
formance of this stipulation— the draft of the United 
States for the first instalment having been dishonored 
by the Minister of Finance— President Jackson, in 



60 



Life of Henry Clay, 



his Message of December, 1834, to Congress, recom- 
mended that, in case provision should not be made 
for the payment of the debt at the approaching Ses- 
sion of the French Chambers, a law should be 
passed authorizing reprisals upon French property. 
This was a step not to be precipitately taken ; and, 
to insure its patriotic, dispassionate and statesman- 
like consideration, the Senate placed Mr. Clay at 
the head of the Committee on Foreign Relations, to 
which Committee that part of the President's Mes- 
sage relating to our affairs with France was referred. 

On the 6th of January, 1835, Mr. Clay made his 
celebrated Report to the Senate. It was read by 
him from his seat, its reading occupying an hour 
and a half; the Senate Chamber being thronged 
during its delivery by Members of the House, and 
the galleries filled to overflowing. The ability dis- 
played in this extraordinary document, the firmness 
and moderation of its tone, the perspicuous arrange- 
ment of facts which it presents, the lucidity and 
strength of its style, and the inevitable weight of its 
conclusions called forth the admiration and concur- 
rence of all parties. It would seem to have been, 
under Providence, the means of averting a war with 
France. In the preparation of it, Mr. Clay had a 
difficult and delicate task to perform ; and it was 
accomplished with great ingenuity and success. 
Not a word that could lower the national tone and 
spirit was indulged in. He eloquently maintained 
that the right lay on our side, but admitted that the 
French King had not been so far in the wrong that 
all hopes of the execution of the Treaty were ex- 
tinct, nor did he consider that hostile measures were 
yet justifiable. This temperate, judicious, firm and 
statesman-like language, while it removed all cause 
of offence on the part of the French, imparted new 
renown to our own Diplomacy. While it was 
all that the most chivalrous champions of their 
Country's honor could ask, it breathed a spirit 
which called forth the full approbation of the 
friends of peace. 

As soon as Mr. Clay had finished the reading of 
his Report, a discussion arose in the Senate as to 
the number which should be printed. Mr. Poindex- 
ter moved the printing of twenty thousand extra co- 
pies. Mr. Clay thought that number too large, and 
suggested five thousand. Mr. Calhoun said he should 
vote fur the largest number proposed. He had heard 
the report read with the greatest pleasure. It con- 
tained the whole grounds which ought to be laid be- 
fore the people. Of all calamities that could befall 
the country, he most deplored a French War at that 
time. Under these considerations he should vote for 
twenty-thousand copies. 

Mr. Ewing and Mr. Porter would vote for the lar- 
gest number, and the latter would have preferred 
thirty or forty thousand. 

Mr. Preston said he was strongly impressed by the 
views taken ly the Committee, and considered them 
sufficient to satisfy the people that we could honor- 
ably and justly avoid w;tr with France. Concur- 
ring in the sentiments of the Committee, and enter- 
taining a profound respect for the wisdom exhibited 
in the Report, he was anxious that the document 
should be spread through the coui.try as widely as 
possible. 

The Senate finally ordered twenty thousand co- 
pies of this admirable repoit to be piinted, audit v as 



soon scattered to the remotest corners of the Union. 
Its effect in reviving the confidence and allaying the 
fears of our mercantile community must be fresh in 
the remembrance of many. The rates of Insurance 
were at once diminished, and Commerce spread her 
white wings to the gale, and swept the ocean once 
more unchecked by the liabilities of a hostile en- 
counter. The depression in business produced bv 
the President's belligerent recommendation was at 
once removed. 

The Report showed conclusively that the Presi- 
dent's recommendation in regard to reprisals was 
premature, and unauthorized by the circumstances 
of the case ; and that there had been a constant man- 
ifestation on the part of the Executive branch of the 
French Government of a disposition to carry the 
Treaty of indemnification into effect. The Commit- 
tee expressed their agreement with the President, 
that the fulfilment of the Treaty should be insisted 
upon at all hazards ; but they considered that a rash 
and precipitate course on our part should be sedu- 
ously avoided. They would not anticipate the pos- 
sibility of a final breach by France of her solemn 
engagements. They limited themselves to a con- 
sideration of the posture of things as they then ex- 
isted. At the same time, they observed that it could 
not be doubted that the United States were abund- 
antly able to sustain themselves in any vicissitude 
to which they might be exposed. The patriotism of 
the people had been, hitherto, equal to all emergen- 
cies, and if their courage and constancy, when they 
were young and comparatively weak, bore them 
safely through all past struggles, the hope might be 
confidently entertained now, when their numbers, 
their strength and their resources were greatly in- 
creased, that they would, whenever the occasion 
might arise, triumphantly maintain the honor, the 
rights and the interests of their country. The Com- 
mittee concluded by recommending to the Senate 
the adoption of the following resolution : 

" Resolved, That it is inexpedient at this time to 
pass any law vesting in ihe President authority for 
making reprisals upon French properly, in the con- 
tingency of provision not being made for paying to 
the United States the indemnity stipulated by the 
Treaty of 1831, during the present session of the 
French Chambers." 

On the 14lh of January, Mr. Clay, pursuant to 
previous notice, called for the consideration of the 
Report of the Committee on Foreign Relations, at*d 
its accompanying Resolution. It being expected 
that he would address the Senate, a large audience 
was in attendance, and, as soon as he was up, the 
other House was without a quorum. The question 
being upon agreeing to the resolution as reported, he 
spoke for nearly an hour, and his remarks were in 
the same moderate, magnanimous and truly Ameri- 
can strain, which characterized his Report. 

Mr. Kins, of Georgia, one of the Administration 
Members of the Committee on Foreign Relaiiona, 
after bearing the strongest testimony to the candid 
and temperate character of Mr. Clay's Report, mo- 
ved to give the Resolution such a modification as, 
without changing its substance, would obtain for it 
a unanimous vote. Mr. Clay accepted in part Mr. 
King's amendment, and also one that was offered by 
Air. Webster; and the following resolution was at 
length unanimously passed by the Senate. 

•• Revolved, That it is inexpedient at present to 



Speech in behalf of the Cherokees—On the Abatement of Executive Patronage. 



61 



adopt any legislative measure in regard to the state 
of affairs between the United Slates and France." 

The unanimous passage of this resolution, was a 
result as gratifying as it was unexpected ; and its 
eftect upon the French Chambers, in neutralizing 
the harsh language of the President, and hastening 
the execution of the Treaty was most auspicious. 
The praises of Congress and of the country, were 
liberally awarded to Mr. Clay for his judicious and 
conclusive Report in behalf of a pacific course. 

The effect of the President's Message recommend- 
ing reprisals and conveying an imputation upon the 
good faith of Louis Phillippe, was such as might 
have been anticipated. The French King was just- 
ly offended. The French Minister was at once re- 
called from Washington, and a Chnrgd. des Affaires 
substituted. Passports were tendered to our Minis- 
ter at Paris. In consequence of these developments, 
Mr. Clay, on the last day of the Session, made an- 
other and a briefer Report from the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, in which the committee expressed 
the opinion, that the Senate ought to adhere to the 
Resolution, adopted the 14th of January, to await 
the result of another appeal to the French Chambers ; 
and, in the mean time, to intimate no ulterior pur- 
pose, but to hold itself in reserve for whatever exi- 
gencies might arise. The Senate concurred in the 
advice of the Committee, who were then discharged 
from the further consideration ot the subject. 

On the 4th of February, 1335, Mr. Clay made a 
brilliant and impressive speech in the Senate upon 
the subject of a memorial, which he presented from 
certain Indians of the Cherokee tribe. The memo- 
rial set forth in eloquent and becoming terms the 
condition of the tribe, their grievances and their 
wants. It seemed, that of the remnant of this peo- 
ple then in Georgia, one portion were desirous of 
being aided to remove beyond the Mississippi, and 
the other wished to remain where they were, and to 
be removed from the rigid restrictions which the State 
of Georgia had imposed upon them. In his remarks, 
Mr. Clay eloquently alluded to the solemn treaties 
by which the possession of their lands had been se- 
cured to these Indians by our Government. The 
faith of the United States had been pledged that they 
should continue unmolested in the enjoyment of their 
hunting-grounds. In defiance of these sacred stip- 
ulations, Georgia had claimed jurisdiction over the 
tribe — had parceled out their lands and disposed of 
them by lottery — degraded the Cherokees to the 
condition of serfs — denied them all the privileges 
of freedom, and rendered their condition infinitely 
worse than that of the African felave. It was the 
interest as well as the pride of the master to provide 
for the health and comfort of his slave; but what 
human being was there to care for these unfortunate 
Indians ? 

As Mr. Clay warmed in his remarks, and dwelt, 
more in sorrow than in anger, upon the wrongs and 
outrages perpetrated in Georgia upon the unoffend- 
ing aborigines within her borders, many of his hear- 
ers were affected to tears, and he himself was obvi- 
ously deeply moved. The occasion was rendered 
still more interesting by the presence of a Cherokee 
Chief and a female of the tribe, who seemed to listen 
to the orator with a painfully eager attention. In 
conclusion, Mr. Clay submitted a resolution direct- 
ing the Committee on the Judiciary to inquire into 



the expediency of making farther provision by law 
to enable Indian Tribes, to whom lands had been 
secured by treaty, to defend and maintain their rights 
to such lands in the Courts of the United States ; 
also, a resolution directing the Committee on Indian 
Affairs to inquire into the expediency of setting 
apart a district of country, west of the Mississippi, 
for such of the Cherokee Nation as were disposed to 
emigrate, and forsecuring in perpetuity their peace- 
ful enjoyment thereof to themselves and their de- 
scendants. 

The oppressed Aboriginal Tribes have always 
found in Mr. Clay a friend and a champion. Al- 
though coming from a State which, in consequence 
of the numerous Indian massacres of which it haa 
been the theatre, has received the appellation of 
" the dark and bloody ground," he has never suffer- 
ed any unphilosophical prejudice against the unfor- 
tunate Red Men to blind his sense of justice or check 
the promptings of humanity. He has constantly 
been among the most active vindicators oftheir cause 
— the most efficient advocates of a liberal policy 
towards them. 

To General Jackson's administration we are in- 
debted for the system which makes the offices of the 
Federal Government the rewards of political parti- 
sanship, and proscribes all incumbents who may en- 
tertain opinions at variance with those of the Execu- 
tive. The Government of the United States dispo- 
ses of an annual patronage of nearly forty millions 
of dollars. By the corrupt use of this immense fund, 
the Jackson dynasty sustained and perpetuated it- 
self in spite of the People. Here was the secret of 
its strength. Commit what violence, outrage what 
principle, assail what interests he might, President 
Jackson threw himself back upon his patronage and 
found protection. The patronage of the Press, the 
patrortage of the Post Office, the patronage of the 
Custom House, with its salaries, commissions and 
fees — the patronage of the Land Office, with its op- 
portunities of successful speculation — these formed 
the stronghold and citadel of corrupt power. 

On the eighteenth of February, 1835, Mr. Clay 
addressed the Senate in support of the bill for the 
Abatement of Executive Patronage. His speech 
contains a striking exposition of the evils resulting 
from the selfish and despotic exercise, on the part of 
the Chief Magistrate, of the appointing and removing 
power; and is pervaded by that truly democratic 
spirit which has characterized all the public acts of 
the author. 

A bill making an appropriation for the Cumber- 
land Road was discussed in the Senate early in Feb- 
ruary. Mr. Clay spoke in favor of the appropria- 
tion, but adversely to the policy of surrendering the 
Road to the States through which it runs. 



€3 



Life of Henry Clay. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Settlement of our French Affairs— Mr. Clay's Land Bill— His 
Speech— Passage of the Bill in the Senate— Abolition Petitions 
—Mr. Clay vindicates the Right of Petition— The Deposit 
Banks— Prediction— Independence of Texns— Various questions 
—Return to Kentucky— Re-elected Senator in 1836— Stute of 
the Country in 1829 and 1836— A contrast— Administration ma- 
jority in the Senate— Mr. Calhoun's Land Bill— Opposition of 
Mr. Clay— Tariff— His two Compromises— The Specie Circu- 
lar—Its Rescision— Benton's Expunging Resolution— Miscel- 
laneous. 

Our affairs with France occupied a considerable 
portion of President Jackson's Message to the 
Twenty-Fourth Congress at its first session. Mr. 
Clay was again placed at the head of the Commit- 
tee on Foreign Relations ; and on the eleventh of 
January, 1836, he introduced a resolution to the Se- 
nate, calling upon the President for information with 
regard to our affairs with France, and for the com- 
munication of certain overtures made by the French 
Government. An additional resolution was pre- 
sented by him two or three weeks afterward, calling 
for the communication of the expose which accom- 
panied the French Bill of Indemnity of the 27th of 
April, 1835; and also, copies of certain notes which 
passed between the Due de Broglie and eur Charge, 
Mr. Barton ; together with those addressed by our 
Minister, Mr. Livingston, to the French Minister of 
Foreign Affairs, or to the Secretary of State of the 
United States. These resolutions were adopted, 
with amendments. 

On the eighth of February, 1836, a Message from 
the President was received, announcing that the Go- 
vernment of Great Britain had offered its mediation 
for the adjustment of the dispute between the United 
States and France. The Message was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs ; and on the twen- 
ty-second of February, a correspondence between 
the Secretary of State and Mr. Bankhead, on the 
subject of British mediation, was submitted. This 
gave occasion for some remarks from Mr. Clay, who 
said that he could not withhold the expression of 
his congratulation to the Senate, for the agency it 
had in producing the happy termination of our diffi- 
culties with France. If the Senate had not, by its 
unanimous vote of last September, declared that it 
was inexpedient to adopt any legislative action upon 
the subject of our relations with France; if it had 
yielded to the recommendations of the Executive in 
ordering reprisals against that power, it could not 
be doubted but that war would have existed at that 
moment in its most serious state. 

Mr. Clay renewed his exertions in behalf of his 
Land Bill during this session. On the fourteenth 
of April, it was taken up in the Senate as the special 
order, and discussed nearly every day for a period 
of two weeks, during which he was frequently call- 
ed upon to defend and explain its provisions. His 
speech of April 26th is remarkable for the vigor of 
its arguments and the force of its appeals. Of this ef- 
fort, the National Intelligencer said : " We thought, 
« after hearing the able and comprehensive argu- 

* ments of Messrs. Ewing, Southard and White, in 

* favor of this beneficent measure, that the subject 
' was exhausted , that, at any rate, but little new 
' could be urged in its defence. Mr. Clay, however, 
' in one of the most luminous and forcible argu- 
' ments which we have ever heard him deliver, 

* placed the subject in new lights, and gave to it new 



' claims to favor. The whole train of his reasoning 
' appeared to us a series of demonstrations." 

The Land Bill, essentially the same as that vetoed 
by General Jackson, passed the Senate the foutth of 
May, 1836, by a vote of twenty-live to twenty ; and 
was sent to the House. But the influence of the 
Executive was too potent here yet to admit of the 
passage of a measure which, though approved by 
the majority, was opposed by the President because 
of its having originated with Mr. Clay. 

The question of the right of petition came before 
the Senate early in the session. On the llili of 
January, Mr. Buchanan presented a memorial from 
a religious Society of Friends in Pennsylvania, re- 
questing Congress to abolish Slavery and the Slave 
Trade in the District of Columbia. He moved that 
the Memorial should be read, and the prayer of the 
Memorialists be rejected. Mr. Calhoun demanded 
that the question should be first taken whether the 
petition be received or not ; and a debale, which was 
prolonged at various intervals till the 9th of March 
sprang up on this preliminary question. Before the 
question was taken, Mr. Clay briefly explained his 
views. On the subject of the right of Congress to 
abolish Slavery in the District, he was inclined to 
think, and candor required the avowal, that the right 
did exist; though he should take a future opportunity 
of expressing his views in opposition to the expe- 
diency of the exercise of that power. He expressed 
his disapprobation of the motion to receive and im- 
mediately reject, made by the Senator from Penn- 
sylvania (Mr. Buchanan.) He thought that the 
right of petition required of the servants of the peo- 
ple to examine, deliberate and decide, either to 
grant or refuse the prayer of a petition, giving the 
reasons for such decision; and that such was the 
best mode of putting an end to the agitation of the 
public on the subject. 

The question " shall the petition be received ?" 
being taken, was decided in the affirmative — yeas, 
36 ; nays, 10. 

Mr. Clay then offered an amendment to Mr. Bu- 
chanan's motion to reject, in which amendment the 
principal reason why the prayer of the Memorial- 
ists could not be granted are succinctly given. The 
amendment not meeting the views of some of his 
Southern friends was subsequently withdrawn by 
Mr. Clay, who maintained, however, that he could 
not assent that Congress had no Constitutional 
power to legislate on the prayer of the petition. 
The subject was at length laid on the table by a 
vote of twenty-four to twenty; but the friends of the 
sacred, unqualified right of petition should not for- 
get that Mr. Clay has ever upheld their cause with 
with his best energies and his warmest zeal. 

A report from the Secretary of the Treasury, 
showing the condition of the Deposit Banks, came 
before the Senate for consideration the 17th of March, 
1836. Mr. Clay forcibly depicted on this occasion 
the total insecurity of the vast public treasure in the 
keeping of these Batiks. What was then prophecy 
became history soon afterwards. "Suppose," said 
he, " a great deficiency of southern crops, or any 
' other crisis creating a necessity for the exportation of 
' specie to Europe, instead of the ordinary shipments. 
' These Banks would he compelled to call in their 
' issues. This would compel other Banks to call in, 
« in like manner, and a panic and general want of 



Narrow Escape— State of the Country at the Close of Gen. Jackson's Administration. 63 



* confidence would ensue. Then what would become 
' of the public money ?" It is unnecessary to point 
to the fulfilment of these predictions. Soon after 
the deposits were removed to the Pet Banks, they 
became the basis of vast land speculations, into 
which all who could obtain a share of the Govern- 
ment money, plunjred at once heels over head; 
Postmasters, Custom-House officers, Navy Agents, 
Pet Bank Directors, Cashiers and Presidents, Dis- 
trict Attorneys, Government Printers, Secretaries of 
State, Postmasters General, Attorneys General, 
President's Secretaries, and all the innumerable sti- 
pendiaries of the Administration. It was this wild 
speculation, fostered and conducted by the facilities 
of the Deposit Banks, that filled the Treasury with 
unavailable funds. The experiment terminated, as 
Mr. Clay prophesied it would terminate, in univer- 
sal bankruptcy. 

On the 8th of June, Mr. Clay, from the Commit- 
tee on Foreign Relations, introduced a report with 
a resolution, for recognizing the Independence of 
Texas whenever satisfactory information should be 
received, that it had a civil Government in success- 
ful operation. Mr. Preston expressed a hope that 
the Executive was by that time in possession of such 
information; as would enable the Senate to adopt 
stronger measures than that recommended by the 
Committee; and he submitted a resolution calling 
on the President for such information. Mr. Clay 
wished that the resolution might be taken up and 
acted on; as he would be extremely glad to receive 
information that would authorize stronger measures 
in favor of Texas. The report of the Committee 
was concurred in; and Mr. Preston's resolution 
adopted. The result of the call upon the President 
and of the discussions that ensued, was the unani- 
mous adoption, by the Senate, on the first of July, 
of the resolution reported by Mr. Clay, with an 
amendment by Mr. Preston adding a clause ex- 
pressing the satisfaction of the Senate, at the Pre- 
sident's having taken measures for obtaining ac- 
curate information as to the civil, military and poli- 
tical condition of Texas. Similar resolutions pass- 
ed the House the 4th of July. 

Mr. Clay spoke on a variety of questions, in ad- 
dition to those we have alluded to, during the ses- 
sion of 1834-5 ; on the motion to admit the Senators 
from Michigan on the floor, and the recognition of 
that clause in the Constitution of Michigan, which 
he conceived to give to aliens the right to vote ; on 
the resolution of Mr. Calhoun to inquire into the 
expediency of such a reduction of duties as would 
not affect the Manufacturing interest ; on the Forti- 
fication Bill, &c. Congress adjourned the fourth of 
July, 1836. 

On his return to Kentucky a dinner was given to 
Mr. Clay by his fellow-citizens of Woodford County. 
During his absence from home, he had experienced 
heavy afflictions in the death of a beloved daughter 
and of his only sister. On rising to speak, he was 
so overcome by the recollection of these losses, ad 
ded to an allusion which had been made to the re- 
mains of his mother being buried in Woodford, that 
he was obliged to resume his seat. He soon rallied, 
however, and addressed the company for about two 
Hours in an animated and powerful strain. He re- 
viewed the recent acts of the Administration— their 
constant tampering with the currency— the Trea- 



sury Order, directing that all payments for lands 
should be made in specie— the injustice practised 
towards the Indian tribes— and the disgracefully 
protracted Seminole War. In conclusion, Mr. Clay 
alluded to his intended retirement from the Senate 
of the United States — an intention, which, at that 
time, he fondly cherished. 

So fixed was his wish to withdraw from public 
life, that he had, at one period, in 1836, made up his 
mind to resign. It is certain, that he looked forward 
with confidence to declining a reelection ; and he 
expressed a hope at the Woodlbrd dinner, (hat the 
State would turn its attention to some other citizen. 

In the autumn of 1836, Mr. Clay narrowly escaped 
a violent death. He was riding on horseback in one 
of his fields, surveying his cattie, when a furious 
bull, maddened from some cause or other , rushrd 
towards him, and plunging his horns with tremen- 
dous force into the horse on which Mr. Clay was 
seated, killed the poor animal on the spot. The dis- 
tinguished rider was thrown to the distance of sev- 
eral feet from his horse, and, thouch somewhat 
hurt by the fall, escaped without material injury. 

We have already given an exposition of Mr. Clay's 
views in behalf of Colonization. In 18315, he was 
unanimously elected President of the American Co- 
lonization Society in the room of the illustrious Ex- 
President Madison, deceased. He accepted the ap- 
pointment. 

During the winter of 1836, Mr. Clay was reelect- 
ed a Senator from Kentucky for six years from the 
ensuing fourth of March. The vote stood : for Henry 
Clay 76; for James Guthrie, the Administration can- 
didate, 54. Eight members were absent, four of 
whom, it is said, would have voted for Mr. Clay. 

The state of the Republic, toward the termination 
of General Jackson's second Presidential term, is 
yet vividly in the recollection of all our citizens. 
He had found the country, in 1829, in a condition 
of unexampled prosperity. The Government was 
administered with economy strictly republican. 
Congress was the dominant power in the land. 
Commerce, Manufactures, Agriculture, flourished. 
The Banking System was in a state of remarkable 
soundness. There was no disposition to multiply 
local Banks. There was neither temptation nor 
ability for these Banks to expand their issues. The 
failure of a Bank was an occurrence as unusual as 
an earthquake. Labor was sure of employment, 
and sure of its reward. There were few brokers, 
usurers and money-lenders by profession. There 
were no speculators by profession. There were 
no immense operations in fancy stocks and land 
schemes. There was but one way of grow- 
ing rich — hard labor — assiduous industry — early 
rising — late retiring — and anxious, devoted and per- 
severing attention to business. Our habits, as a 
people, were simple and democratic. Our For- 
eign Credit was without a stain. The debts 
which we contracted abroad were such as we could 
pay — and paid they were with scrupulous and 
honorable punctuality. Our Currency was, 

WITHOUT EXCEPTION, THE MOST PERFECT O.N 

the face of the globe. No man ever lost a 
cent by it. It was abundant, safe, and well ac- 
credited in every part of the world. All pecuniary 
operations of Trade and Commerce were conducted 
with the most wonderful facility and regularity. 



64 



Life of Henry Clay. 



Gold and silver were in free circulation, and there 
was at all times an abundant supply of the smaller 
coins. Millions on millions of exchanges were 
negotiated in every quarter of the country, and at 
an average rate of one-half or one per cent. — a 
charge merely nominal in comparison with the sub- 
sequent rates. The whole machinery of Society, 
Government, Trade and Currency was in a state as 
nearly approaching perfection as human wisdom 
and ingenuity could compass. 

Such was the condition of the Republic in 1829. 
Then the destroyer came — and all was blasted. 
For eight years he managed the affairs of the 
country in his own way; and his will was the 

LAW OF THE LAND. 

During those eight years, what a change came 
over our affairs ! The whole machinery of Cur- 
rency, Trade and Government was deranged. The 
land was flooded with three or four hundred millions 
of irredeemable paper. The smaller coins disap- 
peared. Specie payments were universally sus- 
pended ; and gold and silver were no more a cur- 
rency than amethysts and diamonds. In trade, 
every thing ran into speculation. Banks sprang 
up like mushrooms on every side. Any two men 
who could write their names so as to sign and 
endorss a piece of paper, were enabled to procure 
' facilities,' which generally turned out to be facili- 
ties for their own destruction. Brokers, usurers, 
money-lenders, speculators multiplied till their 
name was Legion. Every thing was unnaturally 
distended, until, at length, trade came to a dead 
stand. No one wanted to buy, and every body wa3 
afraid to sell. There was an utter stagnation, 
paralysis, extinction, of business. Thousands on 
thousands declared themselves individually bank- 
rupt. As a nation, we were notoriously and 
miserably bankrupt — and we had hardly foreign 
credit enough to make it either safe or decent for 
any American to cross the Atlantic. 

In Government, a revolution no less pernicious 
was accomplished. Congress became a mere step- 
ping-stone to lucrative appointments, and the 
session was merely a convenient reilnion of its 
Members for the better arrangement of their land 
speculations, and the more convenient distribution 
of the Government Deposits among the most ac- 
commodating Banks. The heart of our Govern- 
ment was rotten to its core — and, like our Currency 
and our Trade, it presented but a miserable contrast 
to the condition of 1820. And all these revolutions 
were brought about by the uncontrolled ascendency 
of Jacksonism,and by no other agency under heaven! 

Notwithstanding these deplorable issues, the end 
was not yet. The Jackson dynasty was to be per- 
petuated still another term in the hands of him who 
was proud to follow in the footsteps of his " illus- 
trious predecessor." The Presidential Election of 
1836 terminated in the choice of Martin Van Buren. 
But we are anticipating matters. We have yet the 
short Session of Congress of 1836-7 to review, be- 
fore we take leave of the " Hero of New-Orleans." 

The Administration had now a majority in the 
Senate. That noble phalanx of Whigs, who had 
so undauntedly withstood the usurpations of the 
Executive, could now only operate as a minority. 
One of the first acts of Mr. Clay was to reintroduce 
bis Land Bill. On the 19th of December, in pur- 



suance of previous notice, he presented it with 
modifications suited to the changes in Public Affairs. 
It was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
Public Lands, — at the head of which was Mr. 
Walker of Mississippi, who, on the 3d of January, 
gave notice that he was instructed by the Commit- 
tee to move for the indefinite postponement of the 
bill, when it should come up for consideration. 
Some days afterward, Mr. Walker introduced his 
bill to limit the sales of the Public Lands, except 
to actual settlers, and in limited quantities; and on 
the 9th of February, 1837, Mr. Calhoun's extraor- 
dinary bill, nominally selling, but in reality giving 
to the new States all the Public Domain, came 
before the Senate. 

Mr. Clay took ground at once against this scheme. 
He said that four or five years before, contrary to his 
earnest desire, this subject of the Public Lands was 
forced upon him, and he had, with great labor, 
devised a plan fraught with equity to all the States. 
It received the votes of a majority of both Houses, 
and was rejected by the President. He had alwavs 
considered the Public Domain a sacred trust for the 
country and for posterity. He was opposed to any 
measure giving away this property for the benefit of 
speculators; and he was therefore opposed to this 
bill, as well as to the other (Mr. Walker's) before 
the Senate. He had hitherto labored in vain — but 
he should continue to oppose all these schemes for 
robbing the old States of their rightful possessions. 
He besought the Senate to abstain from these ap- 
peals to the cupidity of the new States from party 
inducements; and he appealed to the Senator from 
South Carolina whether, if he offered them higher 
and better boons than the party in power, he did not 
risk the imputation of being actuated by such in- 
ducements. 

Fortunately for the country, the rash project of 
Mr. Calhoun did not reach the maturity of a third 
reading. 

On the 25th of February, the bill from the Com- 
mittee on Finance to alter and amend the several 
acts imposing duties on imposts being before the 
Senate, Mr. Clay spoke against the measure at 
some length. His principal objection arose from 
what he conceived to be the interference of some of 
the provisions of the bill with the Compromise Act 
of 1833. In the course of his remarks, he gave an 
interesting account of his own connection with that 
important measure. 

He then went on to draw a striking parallel be- 
tween the Compromise Act of 1833 as to the Pro- 
tective System, and that other Compromise Act 
which settled the much agitated Missouri Question, 
and by which the latitude of 36 degrees 30 minutes 
was established as the extreme boundary for the 
existence of Slavery in that State. Had not Con- 
gress a right to repeal that law ? But what would 
those Southern gentlemen, who now so strenuously 
urged a violation of our implied faith in regard to 
the act of '33, say if a measure like that should be 
attempted ? 

Mr. Clay concluded with a motion to re-commit 
the bill foi the reduction of duties to the Committee 
on Finance, with instructions to strike out all those 
articles comprised in the bill, which then paid a duty 
of 20 per cent, and upwards, embraced in the Com- 
promise Act. The motion was lost — 25 Nays to 24 



The Expunging Resolution — Mr. Van Buren Elected President. 



65 



Yeas; and the bill was the same day passed by a 
a vote of 27 to 18. 

Early in the Session, Mr. Ewing had introduced a 
Joint Resolution rescinding the Treasury order by 
which all payments for Public Lands were to be 
made in specie. On the 11th of January, Mr. Clay 
addressed the Senate in a speech replete w ith argu- 
ment and facts in support of the Resolution, and in 
opposition to an amendment, which had been offered 
by Mr. Rives. The Resolution was referred to the 
Committee on Public Lands, who instructed their 
Chairman to lay it on the table when it should come 
up. On the 18th of January, a bill rescinding the 
Specie Circular was reported by Mr. Walker. It 
subsequently passed the Senate, with some slight 
amendments, by a vote of 41 to 5; and received the 
sanction of the other House; but notwithstanding 
this fact, and the additional well-known fact, that the 
order had been originally promulgated in defiance of 
the opinion of Congress and the wishes of the people, 
the bill, " instead of being returned to the House in 
which it originated, according to the requirement of 
the Constitution, was sent to one of the pigeon-holes 
of the Department of State, to be filed away with an 
opinion of a convenient Attorney-General, always 
ready to prepare one in support of Executive en- 
croachment." 

Mr. Van Buren manifested the same contempt for 
the will of the people, expressed by Congress, as 
had been shown by his " illustrious predecessor," 
and refused to interfere until the Specie Circular re- 
pealed itself in the catastrophe of an universal sus- 
pension. 

On the 12th of January, a Resolution, offered by 
Mr. Benton, to expunge from the journals of the Sen- 
ate for 1833-4, Mr. Clay's Resolution censuring 
President Jackson for his unauthorized Removal of 
the Public Deposits came before the Senate for con- 
sideration; and on the 16th Mr. Clay discussed the 
question at considerable length. His speech was in 
a strain of mingled sarcasm and indignant invective, 
which made the subservient majority writhe under 
its scorching power. Never was a measure placed 
in a more contemptible light than was the expung- 
ing proposal by Mr. Clay. Those who heard him, 
can never forget the look and tone, varying from an 
expression of majestic scorn to one of good-humored 
satire, with which he gave utterance to the following 
eloquent passages: 

" What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished 
by this expunging Resolution ? Can you make that 
not to be which has been 1 Can you eradicate from 
memory and from history the fact that in March, 1834, 
a majority of the Senate of the United States passed 
die Resolution which excites your enmity 1 Is it 
your vain and wicked object to arrogate to yourself 
"that power of annihilating the past which has been 
denied to Omnipotence itself Do you intend to 
thrust your hands into our hearts and to pluck out 
the deeply-rooted convictions which are there ? Or 
Li it your design merely to stigmatize us? You can- 
not stigmatize US : 

" ' Ne'er yet did base dishonor blur our name.' 

"Standing securely upon our conscious rectitude, 
and bearing aloft the shield of the Constitution of 
our Country, your puny efforts are impotent, and we 
defy all your power. Put the majority of 1834 in 
one scale, anil that by which this Expunging Reso- 
tion is to be carried in the other, and let Truth and 
Justice, in Heaven above, and on earth below, and 
liberty and patriotism, decide the preponderance. 



" What patriotic purpose is to be accomplished by 
this expunging resolution 1 Is it to appease the 
wrath and to Ileal the wounded pride of the Chief 
Magistrate ? If he be really the hero that his friends 
represent him he must despise all mean condescen- 
sion, all grovelling sycophancy, all self-degradation, 
and self-abasement. He would reject, with scorn 
and contempt as unworthy of his fame, your black 
scratches, and your baby lines in the fair records of 
his country." 

The Expunging Resolution was passed ; but no 
one will envy the immortality, to which the " knights 
of the black lines " have been consigned. 

Mr. Clay addressed the Senate upon several other 
important questions during the session of 1836-7. — 
Among them were that upon the Fortification Bill, 
which was returned to the Senate after the House 
had insisted on the clause for a second Distribution 
of the Surplus Revenue ; and the Resolution from 
the Committee on Foreign Relations, on the subject 
of our affairs with Mexico. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Presidential Campaign of 183G— Mr. Clay declines being a Can- 
didate— Result— Mr. Van Buren's Policy— A Retrospect— De- 
mocratic Doctrine— Issue of the " Experiment"— The Extra 

Session Mr. Van Buren's Message The Sub-Treaiury 

Scheme — Indications of a Split in thellouse — Discussion of the 
Sub-Treasury Bill— Mr. Clay's Speeches— His Resolution in 
relation to a Bank— Treasury Notes— Session of 1837-8— Defeat 
of the Sub-Treasury Measure— Mr. Clay's Review of the Fi- 
nancial Projects of the Administration— Various subjects— His 
outline of a plan for a National Bank— Mr. Clay's course on 
the Abolition Question— His visit to New- York in the Summer 
of 1839— Cordial Reception, by the People, of the " Man of the 
People." 

Mr. Clay had uniformly discouraged the attempts 
of his friends to induce him to become a candidate 
for the Presidency in the campaign of 1836. He 
saw the unhappy diversity in the ranks of the Oppo- 
sition; and he saw, perhaps, the inevitable ability of 
the Jackson dynasty to perpetuate itself in the ele- 
vation of Mr. Van Buren. So potent had the Execu- 
tive become, through usurpation and the abuse of 
patronage ! 

On the eighth of February, that being the day ap- 
pointed by statute for opening the Electoral Returns 
for the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Uni- 
ted States, the result was proclaimed in the presence 
of both Houses of Congress. The following was 
ascertained to be the state of the vote : 



For President. 

Van Buren 170 

Harrison 73 

White 26 

Webster 14 

Mangum 11 

294 



Vice President. 

Johnson 147 

Granger 77 

Tyler 47 

Smith 23 

294 



It was then declared that it appeared that Martin 
Van Buren had been duly elected President of the 
United States, for four years from the 4th of March, 
1837 ; and that no person had a majority of all the 
votes for the Vice Presidency, and that Mr. Johnson 
and Mr. Granger had the largest number of votes of 
all the candidates. Mr. Johnson was afterward duly 
chosen. 

It had been hoped by many that under Mr. Van 
Buren a less destructive policy would be adopted 
than that which had signalized the reign of the 
'• Hero of New-Orleans." For the last eight years 
the country had been governed by Executive edicts. 
Congress had always been disposed to do right, but 
it had been thwarted by a domineering and usurping 
| Executive. The will of the People, constitutionally 



66 



Life of Henry Clay. 



avowed, had been constantly defeated by the impe- Sub-Treasury plan, which was in other words, a 
rious and impetuous objections of one fallible and scheme for placing the Public Purse under the con- 
passionate old man. „■„! f , ne President, that he was defeated in the 
Congress passed Mr. Clay's Land Bill ; but the very first party vote after the election of Speaker. 



Executive destroyed it. 



The leading topic of the session was of course the 



Congress said that the Deposits were safe in the new Sub-Treasury project; and it was discussed in 
P.ank of the United States; the Executive removed the Senate with great ability on both sides. By this 
'bem. bill, the Treasury of the United States the Trea- 

Congress refused to issue a Specie Circular; it surers of the Mint and its Branches, Collectors, Re- 
was issued by the Executive. j ceivers, Postmasters, and other office-holders, were 

Congress rescinded the Specie Circular; and the commissioned to receive in specie and keep, subject 
Executive defeated that rescision. j to the draft of the proper Department, all public 

Now the doctrine of Thomas Jefferson, as adopted moneys coming into their hands, iistead of deposit- 
and always acted upon by Henry Clay, is, that the ing them, as heretofore, in Banks. Among the 



WILL OF THE MAJORITY, HONESTLY EXPRESSED, 

shall give law. But Congress had no inlluence 
in the Government during the pernicious ascenden- 
cy of Jacksonism. It came together to pass appro- 
priation bills, and register the decrees of the Chief 
Magistrate. The noble majority in the Senate, for a 
while, prevented much mischief, but they could 
originate and prosecute no settled policy, in conse- 
quence of the Administration majority in the other 
branch. We lived literally under Executive Legis- 
lation. Where the President could not veto, he 
could do some act of violence, and compel Congress 
either to leave the country without law or to adapt 
its legislation to the existing exigencies. Thus he 
could not prevail on Congress to remove the De- 
posits — but when they were removed, to " furnish 
an instrument of power to himself and of plunder 
to his partisans" — Congress was compelled either 
to leave them without law, or to pass laws for the 
regulation of new depositions. 

The hopes that had been entertained of a reform 
under Mr. Van Buren proved fallacious; but his at- 
tempt to march in the "seven-leagued boots" of his 
predecessor speedily resulted in a ridiculous fail- 
ure. He was tripped up at the very start. 

The disastrous condition in which the country 
was left by the "hero of New-Orleans," whose 
" humble efforts" to improve the Currency had re- 
sulted in the universal prostration of business, and a 
suspension of specie payments, called upon his 
puccessor in the Presidential chair for some im- 
mediate measure of relief. On the 15th of May. 
1337, Mr. Van Buren issued his Proclamation 
ordering an extraordinary session of Congress, to 
commence the first Monday in September. In 
accordance with that Proclamation, both Houses 
of Congress met at the Capitol on the day appoint- 
ed ; and the Message recommending the Sob-Trea- 
sury System for the deposit, transfer and disburse- 
ment of the Public Revenue, was transmitted by the 
President. The consequence was an instantaneous 
loss of his majority in the House of Representatives. 

In the election of Speaker, at the commencement 
of the Extra Session, 224 members voted, making 
113 necessary to a choice. Mr. Polk received 116 
votes, and was elected. Then came the Sub-Trea- 
sury Message , and the vote on the election of Prin- 
ter indicated a sudden disaffection in the ranks, and 
a general breaking up of the Administration party. 
On the twelfth ami final balloting, Thomas Allen, 
the Editor of the Madisonian, was elected over the 
Van Buren candidates, Blair and Rives. A deci- 
ded majority of the House had been elected as friends 
of Mr. Van Buren ; but so alarming seemed his 



earliest and most prominent advocates of this mea- 
sure was Mr. Calhoun, who suddenly found himself 
one of the leaders of a parly, which for the last five 
or six years he had been denouncing as the most 
corrupt that had ever cursed a country. 

The bill was taken up in the Senate the 20th Sep- 
tember; arid on the 25th, Mr. Clay spoke in opposi- 
tion to this audacious and Anti-Republican scheme. 
In this admirable speech he went at length into an 
examination of the causes that had led to the exist- 
ing disastrous state of public affairs. To the finan- 
cial experiments of General Jackson, he traced back 
unerringly the consequent inflation of the currency — 
the wild speculations, which had risen to their height 
when they began to be checked by the preparations 
of the Local Banks, necessary to meet the Deposit 
Law of June, 1836 — the final suspension of specie 
payments — and all the disorders in the Currency, 
Commerce and general business of the country, that 
ensued. He then gave his objections to the scheme 
before the Senate. It proposed one Currency for the 
Government and another for the people. As well 
might it be attempted to make the Government 
breathe a different air, be lit and warmed by a dif- 
ferent sun from the People ! A hard-money Govern- 
ment and a paper-money People! A Government, 
an official corps — ihe servants of the People — glit- 
tering in gold, and the People themselves, their mas- 
ters, buried in ruin, and surrounded by rags ! By 
the proposed substitution of an exclusive metallic 
Currency for the mixed medium, all pioperty would 
be reduced in value to one-third of its present nom- 
inal amount; and every debtor would in effect have 
to pay three times as much as he had contracted 
for. Then there was the insecurity of the system — 
the liability to favoritism in the fiscal negotiations — 
the fearful increase of Executive patronage — the ab- 
solute and complete union of the Purse and the 
Sword in the hands of the President ! All these ob- 
jections were most powerfully elucidated and en- 
forced by Mr. Clay. 

He then proceeded to declare what he believed to 
be the only efficient measure for restoring a sound 
and uniform Currency, which was a United States 
Bank, established under such restrictions, as the 
lights of recent experience might suggest. "But," 
said Mr. Clay, "if a National Bank be established, 
'its stability and its utility will depend upon the 
' general conviction which is felt of its necessity. 
' And until such a conviction is deeply impressed 
' upon the People, and clearly manifested by them, 
'it would, in my judgment, be unwise even to pro- 
'pose a Bank.''' 1 

On the 4th of October the Sub-Treasury Bill, af- 



The Sub-Treasury Project — Outline of a National Bank. 



67 



ter undergoing various amendments, was read a 
third time and passed by the Senate by a vote of 25 
to 20. It was taken up in the House on the 10th of 
October, and, on the 14th, laid on the table by a 
vote of 120 to 107. 

The defeat of this measure in the teeth of the 
Executive recommendation, in spite of Executive 
blandishment and terrors — the triumph of the ma- 
jority without doors over the majority within, 
and of both over patronage and power — revived the 
dying hopes of the patriot and infused new life into 
our Constitution. The sceptre of misrule had crum- 
bled. The dynasty, which for nearly nine years 
had misruled the country, received on that occasion 
its immedicable wound. 

A resolution reported by Mr. Wright from the 
Committee on Finance, in relation to the petitions 
for a National Bank, was called up in the Senate 
the 2Gth of September. The resolution declared 
that the prayer of the memorialists ought not to be 
granted. In h ; s remarks upon this subject, Mr. Clay 
alluded to the case in which Mr. Randolph moved 
in the House of Representatives a similar negative 
resolution — " That it is inexpedient to declare war 
against Great Britain." Mr. Clay said, that if Mr. 
W. persisted in his resolution, he should move to 
strike out all after the word Resolved, and substi- 
tute : " that it will be expedient to establish a Bank 
of the United States whenever it shall be manifest 
that a clear majority of the People of the United 
States desire such an Institution." The motion 
was subsequently made and lost; and Mr. Wright's 
resolution was adopted. The party then in power 
seem to have had but little reverence for the wishes 
of a " clear majority of the people of the United 
States." 

The Extra Session lasted six weeks — Congress 
adjourning on the morning of the 16th of October. 
The measure, on which the hopes and fate of the 
Administration were staked, had been defeated. 

The Sub-Treasury project came again before the 
Twentv-Fifth Congress, at their Second Session. 
The 19th of February, 1833, Mr. Clay once more 
addressed the Senate in opposition to the measure. 
This Speech is one of the longest and ablest ever 
delivered by him. At the commencement he. stated 
certain propositions, which he would proceed to 
demonstrate. He contended — 

1st. That it was the deliberate purpose and fixed 
design of the late Administration to establish a Gov- 
ernment — a Treasury Bank — to be administered and 
controlled by the Executive Department. 

2d. That, with that view, and to that end, it was 
its aim and intention to overthrow the whole Bank 



of the late Bank of the United States, aDd the State 
Banks, a Government Bank, to be managed and con- 
trolled by the Treasury Department, acting under 
the commands of the President of the United States. 

The manner in which Mr. Clay proceeded to sus- 
tain these charges against the Administration was 
extremely impressive. That ho made out his case 
satisfactorily to the People, subsequent events fully 
demonstrated. 

Mr. Clay appears to have addressed the Senate 
on every question of moment that claimed its atten- 
tion during the Session of 1837-8 ; on the reception 
of petitions for the Abolition of Slavery in the Dis- 
trict of Columbia — the bill to restrain the issuing of 
small notes in the District — the disturbances on the 
Northern frontier, and the attack on the Caroline, an 
act which he denounced in the most unmeasured 
terms — the bill to grant preemption rights to set- 
tlers on the Public Lands — the bill to establish the 
Oregon Territory — in favor of the bill to prohibit 
the giving or accepting a challenge to fight a duel 
in the District of Columbia — against the bill pro- 
viding for the graduation and reduction of the price 
of the Public Lands — and on many other subjects 
of hardly inferior interest. 

A Joint Resolution, offered by him on the 30th of 
April, providing for the reception of the notes of 
sound Banks in the collection of the Revenue, was 
adopted by the Senate, with some amendments, the 
29th of May. It was in effect a repeal of the Spe- 
cie Circular. 

In the course of the Session Mr. Clay took occa- 
sion, in presenting a petition for the establishment 
of a United States Bank, to make known his own 
views in regard to such an institution. Some of the 
conditions and restrictions, under which it seemed 
to him suitable to establish such a Bank, were 
briefly given in the following sketch : 

1. The capital not to be extravagantly large, but, 
at the same time, amply sufficient to enable it to per- 
forin the needful financial duties for the Govern- 
ment; to supply a general currency of uniform 
value throughout the Union; and to facilitate, as 
nigh as practicable, the equalization of Domestic 
Exchange. He supposed that about fifty millions 
would answer all those purposes. The Stock might 
be divided between the General Government, the 
States, according to their federal population, and 
individual subscribers ; the portion assigned to the 
latter to be distributed at auction or by private sub- 
scription. 

2. The Corporation to receive such an organiza- 
tion as to blend, in lair proportions, public and pri- 
vate control, and combining public and private in- 
terests ; and, in order to exclude the possibili- 
ty of the exercise of any foreign influence, non- 
resident foreigners to be prohibited not only from 



m* Svstem, as existina in the United States when any share in the administration of the Corporation, 



the Administration came into power, beginning will 
the Bank of the United States, and ending with the 
State Banks. 

3d. That the attack was first confined, from con- 
siderations of policy, to the Bank of the United 
States ; but that, after its overthrow was accom- 
plished, it was then directed, and had since been 
continued, auainst the State Banks. 

4th. That the present Administration, by its ac- 
knowledgements, emanating from the highest and 
most authentic source, had succeeded to the princi- 
ples, plans and policy of the preceding Adminis- 
tration, and stood solemnly pledged to complete 
and perfect them. And, 

5th. That the bill under consideration was intended 
to execute the pledge, by establishing, upon the ruins 



but from holding, directly or indirectly, any portion 
of its stock. The Bank would thus be in its origin, 
and continue throughout its whole existence, a gen- 
uine American Institution. 

3. An adequate portion of the capital to be set 
apart in productive stocks, and placed in permanent 
security, beyond the reach of the corporation (with 
the exception of the accruing profits on those stocks) 
sufficient to pay promptly, in any contingency, the 
amount of all such paper, under whatever form, 
that the Bank shall put forth as a part of the gen- 
eral circulation. The bill or note holders, in other 
words, the mass of the community, ought to be pro- 
tected against the possibility of the failure or the 
suspension of the Bank. The supply of the circu- 
lating medium of a country is that faculty of a 



68 



Life of Henry Clay. 



Bank, the property or the exercise of which may be 
most controverted. The dealings with a Bank of 
those who obtain discounts, or make deposits, are 
voluntary and mutually advantageous ; and they are 
comparatively few in number. But the reception of 
what is issued and used as a part of the circulating 
medium of the country, is scarcely a voluntary act; 
and thousands take it who have no other concern 
whatever with the Bank. The many ought to be 
guarded and secured by the care of the legislative 
authority; the vigilance of the feio will secure 
themselves against loss. 

4. Perfect publicity as to the state of the Bank at 
all times, including, besides the usual heads of in- 
formation, the. names of every debtor to the Bank, 
whether as drawer, endorser or surety, periodically 
exhibited, and open to public inspection; or, if that 
should be found inconvenient, the right to be se- 
cured to any citizen to ascertain at the Bank the 
nature and extent of the responsibility of any of its 
customers. There is no necessity to to throw any 
veil of secresy around the ordinary transactions of a 
Bank. Publicity will increase responsibility, re- 
press favoritism, insure the negotiation of good pa- 
per, and, when individual insolvency unfortunately 
occurs, will deprive the Bank of undue advantages 
now enjoyed by Banks practically in the distribu- 
tion of the effects of the insolvent. 

5. A limitation of the dividends so as not to au- 
thorize more than — per cent to be struck. This 
will check undue expansions in the medium, and re- 
strain improper extension of business in the admin- 
istration of the Bank. 

6. A prospective reduction in the rate of interest, 
so as to restrict the Bank to six per cent simply, or, 
if practicable, to only five per ce it. The reduction 
may be effected by forbearing to exact any bonus, or, 
when the profits are likely to exceed the prescribed 
limit of the dividends, by requiring the rates of inter- 
est shall be so lowered as that they shall not pass 
that limit. 

7. A restriction upon the premium demanded upon 
post notes and checks used for remittances, so that 
the maximum should not be more than, say one and 
a half per cent between any two of the remotest 
points in the Union. Although it may not be prac- 
ticable to regulate Foreign Exchange, depending as 
it does upon commercial causes not within the con- 
trol of any one government, it is otherwise with re- 
gard to Domestic Exchange. 

8. Every Practicable provision against the exercise 
of improper influence, on the part of the Executive, 
upon the Bank, and, on the part of the Bank, upon 
the elections of the country. The people entertain 
a just jealousy against the danger of any interfer- 
ence of a Bank with the elections of a country, and 
every precaution ought to be taken strictly to guard 
against it. 

This was a brief outline of such a Bank as Mr. 
Clay thought would, if established, conduce greatly 
to the prosperity of the country. Its wise and prov- 
ident restrictions would seem to preclude all those 
popular objections which generally apply to banks. 
With regard to the constitutionality of a National 
Bank, Mr. Clay said, that forty years of acquiescence 
by the people — the maintenance of the power by 
Washington, the Father of his Country ; by Madison, 
the Father of the Constitution; and by Marshall, the 
Father of the Judiciary, ought to be precedents suf- 
ficient in its favor. 

The Abolition question was agitated in the Senate 
during the last Session of the 25th Congress. Mr. 
Clay had been urged by many of his friends to re- 
frain from speaking on the subject. It was repre- 
sented to him as impolitic, superfluous, and likely 
to interfere with his Presidential prospects. Such 
arguments could have no weight with him. 



His whole course upon this perilous question has 
been that of the honest, upright, practical and con- 
sistent statesman, the true philanthropist, the sa- 
gacious and devoted patriot. When Mr. Calhoun 
introduced, in the Session of 1835-6, his bill to give 
Postmasters and their Deputies a power of inspec- 
tion and espionage over the Mails — the bill which 
was passed to its third reading by the casting vote 
of Martin Van Buren — it met with the prompt and 
decided condemnation of Mr. Clay. No man has 
more vigilantly watched the sacred Right of Peti- 
tion than Mr. Clay. He has condemned on all oc- 
casions the refusal of the Senate to receive petitions. 
His speech of February, 1839, yields to the Aboli- 
tionists all that they have a right to demand, and is 
at the same time so liberal in its doctrines as to dis- 
arm the ultraism of Southern hostility. M-r. Cal- 
houn himself was compelled to admit his acquies- 
cence in the soundness of its doctrines and the secu- 
rity which their adoption would promise to the Un- 
ion. The enemies of Mr. Clay denounced this move- 
ment on the Abolition question as an effort to achieve 
popularity. They reasoned from the inevitable re- 
sult, to an unworthy inducement. To impute un- 
worthy motives to Mr. Clay because of such a result 
was to impeach the purity of all public action, and 
to confine the statesman, who would preserve his po- 
litical reputation, to the advocacy of unwise and un- 
popular measures. Popularity did follow the pro- 
mulgation of such sentiments as are contained in 
the speech of Mr. Clay — the popularity which all 
good men desire — the popularity of which all great 
men may be prond — the popularity based upon grat- 
itude for distinguished service, admiration for com- 
manding eloquence, and the eternal sympathies of 
the people with the patriot. 

In the summer of 1839, Mr. Clay visited Buffalo, 
and passing into Canada, made an excursion to 
Montreal and Quebec. Returning, he visited the 
city of New- York. He had the previous summer 
been invited, at an enthusiastic meeting of his friends 
at Masonic Hall, to visit the city, but had then been 
unable to comply with their invitation. His recep- 
tion at the period to which we now refer, was one of 
the most brilliant ever extended to a public man. 
Early in the afternoon he was landed at the foot of 
Hammond-street, Greenwich, from the steamboat 
James Madison, attended by a large number of cit- 
izens. An immense multitude was assembled to 
greet his arrival, and, as he stepped on the wharf, 
the air was rent with acclamations from a myriad of 
voices. The day was most propitious. At Green- 
wich, a procession was formed headed by marshals, 
after whom came a numerous cavalcade. A band of 
music preceded the open barouche of Mr. Clay, and 
avast concourse of citizens followed in carriages. 
Everything in the city, in the shape of a four-wheeled 
vehicle was in attendance, and tens of thousands of 
citizens followed on foot. When the head of the 
procession reached the Astor House, the rear had 
not yet formed in line. Through the whole extent 
from the point of landing, through Hudson- street, 
up Fourteenth-street to Union Place, and down 
Broadway to the Park, a distance of nearly three 
miles, it was at one and the same time a dense mo- 
ving mass of horsemen, carriages, carmen and cit- 
izens. Every window on either side of the way was 
occupied, and acclamations from every house, and 



Presidential Contests of 1824, '32. — The Harrisburg Convention of 1839. 



€9 



the waving of handkerchiefs, and cordial salutations, 
greeted the illustrious Statesman as he passed. At 
Constitution Hall, at Masonic Hall, and at every 
place of public resort and amusement, flags were 
displayed, and hands of music were stationed to hail 
his approach. 

As he reached the Park, the tens of thousands 
who thronged the grounds, the windows and roofs 
of the surrounding edifices, the adjacent streets, and 
the large open space at the junction of Chatham- 
street and Broadway, thundered out the mighty wel- 
come of a grateful people to the gallant, generous, 
warm-hearted and noble-minded citizen, whose life 
had been devoted to their service. 

The reception was purely a civic one. It was not 
a got-tip, official pageant, where the populace exhi- 
bit their gratitude by an invitation of the Common 
Council, and display a certain amount of enthusi- 
asm duly provided for by the resolves and ordinan- 
ces of the Corporation. It was the voluntary, un- 
bought, unhidden movement of the People, to greet 
the arrival among them of one, who had ever been 
e.i;iuently the Man of the People. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



Che Harrisburg Convention— Mr. Clay the choice of the People 
— Presidential Contests of 1824 and 1832— Intrigues in the Con- 
vention— Me:, ns employed to thwart the Nomination ot Mr. 
Cl-iy— Organization of the Convention— Nomination of Gene- 
ral Harrison— Acquiescence of the Kentucky Delegation— Mr. 
CI iy*s Letter— Remarks of Gov. Rarbour, Mr. Leigh, Mr. Liv- 
intfst >n— John Tyler Nominated for the Vice Presidency- 
Grounds of the Nomination. 

As the period of another Presidential Election 
drew near, that vast portion of the Democracy of the 
land, opposed to the administration of Mr. Van Bn- 
ren, bpgun to turn their eyes towards the most able, 
renowned and consistent of their leaders, Henry 
Clay, as a fitting candidate for the Chief Magistracy 
of the United States. The Champion of the People, 
their interests and their honor, during the Last War 
— the Preserver of the Union on two momentous oc- 
casions, when it was threatened with Dissolution 
aud Civil War — the Founder and vigilant Protector 
of the American System— the Friend of Internal Im- 
provements — the intelligent Advocate of a Sound, 
Uniform, Republican Currency, and of a Judicious 
Tariff— the experienced Statesman, who, at Ghent, 
and in the Department of Stale, had displayed the 
highest order of talents in the service of his country 
— the active Foe of Executive Usurpation — the chiv- 
alrous Defender of the Constitution and the Laws, 
who, in his public career, had ever manifested his 
obedience to the principle that the WILL OF THE 
PEOPLE, faithfully expressed, should give Law — 
the Vindicator of Human Liberty throughout the 
World — WHO could present claims so numerous, 
bo powerful, so overwhelming, upon the gratitude, 
confidence and suffrages of the People of the United 
States ? 

The fact of his having been in two instances an 
unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency, was the 
only objection worthy of notice, which was brought 
forward by those who, while they professed to admit 
his claims, and to accord with him in his political 
creed, were doubtful of the expediency of his nomi- 
nation. But what were tbp facte in regard to thoeo 
two instances? In the election of 1824, be failed in 



being elected by the Primary Colleges, in company 
with John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, and 
William H. Crawford. So that the argument in this 
case would have been as valid against any one of 
these candidates as it can be against Mr. Clay. He 
was excluded from being one of the three highest 
candidates, who were returned to the House on this 
occasion, by being unfairly deprived of Electoral 
Votes in New- York and Louisiana. It was, more- 
over, well known that, if the Election were carried 
to the House, Mr. Clay would, as the natural result 
of his great popularity, be elected. The friends of 
all the other candidates, consequently, had a united 
interest in excluding him. 

With regard to the contest of 1832, the reelection 
of Gen. Jackson at that time could not be construed 
into an indication of popular feeling towards Mr. 
Clay. The "Hero of New-Orleans" had, during 
his first term, just entered upon his novel experi- 
ments in the Currency ; and a greatpart of the People 
were disposed to give them a fair trial, and afford 
him an opportunity to carry out the policy he had 
commenced. The patronage of the Executive was 
directed, to an extent wholly unparalleled, towards 
the continuance of the sceptre in his hands. Nulli- 
fication had begun to show its menacing face, and 
there were many, even among those who were hos- 
tile to the general policy of the Administration, and 
friendly to Mr. Clay, who yet unwisely thought that 
strenuous measures towards South Carolina would 
be required, and that the Union would be safest un- 
der the direction of a Military Chief .Magistrate. 

In addition to these circumstances, the party op* 
posed to Gen. Jackson was distracted by Anti-Ma- 
sonry, which presented an excellent and popular 
candidate for President in William Wirt. 

These two elections are all in which Mr. Clay 
has been a candidate for the Presidency, and in nei- 
ther did he have a fair field. He has been nearly 
twenty times a candidate for the suffrages of the 
People, and only on these two occasions defeatt-d. 
Mr. Van Buren, with a clear field and the whole pa- 
tronage of the Government in his own hands, failed 
in the election of 1840. 

How ridiculous, then, to assert that the Presiden- 
tial contests of 1824 and 1832 afford any test of Mr. 
Clay's present strength with the People of the Uni- 
ted States! Let it be borne in mind, moreover, that 
since the period of his last candidacy he has render- 
ed the most memorable services to the country ; and 
that he comes before the people endued with many 
new claims upon their gratitude and support. 

The Democratic Whig Convention for the nomi- 
nation of a Presidential Candidate, met at Harris- 
burgh, on the 4th of December, 1839. That they 
represented a constituency, two-thirds of which 
were in favor of the nomination of Henry Clay, we 
cannot entertain a doubt. But soon after the as- 
sembling of the Convention, intrigues were set on 
foot by an adroit few for the selection of some other 
candidate. It was contended by these men that 
Mr. Clay was deficient in popular strength ; and 
they would soothingly add, that he was too good 
and great a man ever to be made President. 

One word in regard to this argument, which we 
often hear from the lips of persons professing' an at- 
tachment to Democratic principles. It is a gross 
libel on the intelligence of the people, and is found- 



70 



Life of Henry Clay. 



etl in a supercilious distrust of their competency to 
self-government. Communities may be deluded, 
and Republics, through error, be ungrateful for 
a time, but so surely as truth prevails, as prevail it 
must, will they make amends for their injustice. 
The sentiment of generosity is strong in the breast 
of a people; and it is never stifled except through 
misconception or ignorance. 

The most successful means employed at Harris- 
burgh to defeat the nomination of Mr. Clay was to 
praise him and decry his prospects. Some dozen 
or more individuals residing chiefly in different parts 
of the State of New-York, but embracing persons 
in other States, would write letters to one another, 
professing to give calculations based upon unerring 
statistics. The intriguers were thus severally sup- 
plied with a bundle of letters full of extravagant 
eulogiums upon Mr. Clay, and oflamentations that 
so great and good a man, and one who had render- 
ed such signal services, could not be elected. These 
letters were pulled out and exhibited from time to 
time, as was best calculated to advance the end in 
view, their exhibition being generally preceded by 
the. observation : " You know that Mr. Such-a-one, 
' the writer of this letter, is a devoted friend of Mr. 
' Clay ; but only read what he thinks and says of his 
' Presidential prospects." 

Attempts were also made to convey an exagger- 
ated impression of the superiority of Gen. Scott's 
strength over that of Mr. Clay in New- York — a supe- 
ioritv which ne^er existed. Men who had been sent to 
the Convention, by constituents entertaining an en- 
thusiastic preference for Mr. Clay, became suddenly 
doubtful as to his strength, and commenced manufac- 
turing public opinion for the advancement of their own 
selfish ends. These manajuverers were few in num- 
ber, but in a body like that at Harrisburgh, where a 
conciliatory and compromising spirit prevailed, they 
were enabled to exert an all-important influence. 
The intriguers soon succeeded in detaching many 
of the honest and sincere friends of Mr. Clay from 
his support, alarming them by their fabricated pub- 
lic opinion and appealing to their pattintism and their 
attachment to principles rather than men. 

Hardly a doubt seemed to be entertained, on the 
first meeting of the Convention, that Mr. Clay would 
be nominated. There were not two opinions ex- 
pressed on the point, that he ought to be President 
of the United States. The question was one solely 
of •probability of election ; and this was a question 
partly of mere opinion and partly of testimony. 
Such a state of things presented a rare opportunity 
for intrigue and deception ; and a few — a very few — 
could, it is obvious, by a resort to unprinciphd arts 
and strained representations, and by busy, under- 
hand intrigues, mislead the majority and defeat their 
will. Unhappily for the country, such a few were 
found ; and receiving coadjutors, as they soon did, 
in some honest but duped friends of Mr. Clay, their 
influence was greatly augmented, and even those 
who had had «V»f» fullest faith in the strength of their 
favorite candidate began to question whether expe- 
diency would not require another choice. 

In stating these well-known facts, it is far from 
our intention to intimate that there were not some 
gentlemen in the Convention who honestly believed 
that it would be injudicious to nominate Mr. Clay 
at that time. Unquestionably there were sueli : 



and they may now be found among the warmest 
and most single-hearted of his supporters. But wc 
must, nevertheless, adhere to the conviction that the 
will of the People was not faithfully spoken by that 
Convention ; and that the defeat of Mr. Clay's nomi- 
nation was brought about by a misapprehension *>' 
their most earnest wishes and anticipations. 

The Convention was organized on the 5th of De- 
cember by the appointment of Hon. James Barbour 
as President, with thirteen Vice Presidents and four 
Secretaries. A Committee was appointed to report 
upon the nomination of a candidate, and, after a ses 
sion of nearly two days, during which the intriguers' 
were not idle with their bundles of letters, it reported 
in favor of William Henry Harrison. The friends 
of Mr. Clay — those who had adhered to him to the 
last — disappointed as they were in this unlooked-for 
result, were too well aware of the generous senti- 
ments of their candidate, not to acquiesce in it cheer- 
fully and with a good grace. At the meeting of the 
Convention, on the 9th of December, Mr. Banks of 
Kentucky was the first to rise and announce the 
heariy concurrence of the Delegation from that 
State in the nomination indicated by the informal 
ballot announced by the Committee. Mr. Preston, 
from the same State, followed in the same strain, 
and asked that a letter from Mr. Clay, which had 
for several days been in possession of a Delegate, 
but which had not been shown, lest it should seem 
intended to be used to excite sympathy for Mr. Clay, 
should now be read. Permission being unanimously 
given, the letter was read by General Leslie Combs 
of Kentucky. 

In this letter Mr. Clay says: "With a just and 
' proper sense of the high honor of being voluntarily 
' called to the office of President of the United States 
' by a great, free and enlightened people, and pro- 
' foundly grateful to those of my fellow-citizens who 
' are desirous to see me placed in that exalted and 
' responsible station, I must nevertheless say in en- 
1 tire truth and sincerity, that if the deliberations of 
' the Convention shall lead them to the choice of an- 
' other as the candidate of the opposition, far front 
i f eliog any discontent, the nomination will have 
' my best wishes and receive my cordial support.'''' 
He then calls upon his friends from Kentucky, dis- 
carding all attachments or partiality for himself, and 
guided solely by the motive of rescuing our country 
from the dangers which environed it, to heartily unite 
in the selection of that citizen, although it should not 
be Henry Clay, who might appear the most likely by 
his election to bring about a salutary change in the 
Administration. 

The reading of this letter excited great emotion in 
the Convention. It was the saying of a patriot of 
antiquity, that he would rather have it asked by pos- 
terity whv a monument was not erected to him than 
why it was. A similar spirit would seem to actuate 
Mr. Clay ; for never has he been knnwn to manifest 
any personal disappointment at the failure or betrayal 
of his Presidential prospects. 

Gov. Barbour, of Virginia, after expressing his 
concurrence in the will of the Convention, said he 
had known Mr. Clay for thirty years, and had been 
intimately associated with him in public and private 
life, and that a more devoted Patriot or purer States- 
man never breathed. In the course of that thirty 
vears he had never heard him utter one sentimeus 



Nomination of Mr Tyler to the Vice- Presidency — Mr. Clay again in Congress. 



71 



unworthy this character. There was no place in his 
heart for one petty or selfish emotion. 

Benjamin Watkins Leigh anticipated the concur- 
rence of Virginia in the nomination. He had lelt it 
his duty to support his more intimate and endeared 
friend, Henry Clay, but he acknowledged the worth 
of Gen. Harrison. He had supported the former to 
the last from the firmest conviction that no other man 
was so fitted to the crisis — so transcendantly quali- 
fied for the highest office in the gift of the American 
people as Henry Clay. He never thought that i\Ir. 
Clay needed the office, but that the country needed 
him. That office could confer no dignity or honor 
on Henry Clay. The measure of his tame was full ; 
and whenever the. tomb should close over him it would 
cover the loftiest intellect and the noblest heart that 
this age had produced or known. 

The venerable Peter R. Livingston, of New-York, 
an able and anient supporter of Mr. Clay, said in 
regard to him — " I envy Kentucky, for when he dies, 
she will have his ashes ! " 

A candidate tor the Vice-Presidency remained to 
be nominated by the Convention. He was Ibuud in 
the person of John Tyler, of Virginia. By what un- 
fortunate chance this selection was made, it is unne- 
cessary now to inquire. It must be said in exculpa- 
tion of those, however, who acquiesced in it, that 
there was no good reason for doubting Mr. T\ let's 
political fidelity and attachment to Whig principles. 
On all the great questions of public policy he was 
considered as pledged to the support of those meas- 
ures for which the Whig party had been battling du- 
ring the last ten years. On the subject of the Public 
Lauds he had, as a Member of the Virginia Legisla- 
ture, in 1839, dcclaied himself, both in a Report and 
a Speech, an advocate of the measure of Distribu- 
tion. In a speech before the U. S. Senate, he had 
condemned, in unequivocal terms, the abuse of the 
Veto power. He went to Harrisburg, as he himself 
lias said, in favor of Henri/ Clay — he voted for him 
in his own Delegation up to (lie seventh and last 
ballot — and, if his own words are to be believed, he 
was affected even to tears, when the nomination was 
given by the Convention to another. Surely it can- 
not be said that he might have been in favor of Mr. 
Clay's nomination to the Presidency, and yet oppo- 
sed to the most important public measures to which 
that distinguished Statesmen had ever rendered his 
support. 

On the question of a Bank, it was, with reason 
believed that Mr. Tyler's views were similar to those 
maintained by the great Whig Party of the country. 
Whilst a member of the Convention at Harrisburg, 
he had made to Governor Owen, of North Carolina, 
Chairman of the Committee, through whom all no- 
minations must find their way to the Convention, 
the following communication:* 

" That his views on the Bank Question had un- 
dergone an entire change; that he believed the es- 
tablishment of a National Bank to be alike indispen- 
sable as a Fiscal Agent of the Government, and to 
the restoration of the Currency and Exchanges of 
the country ; and he thought that all Constitutional 
objections ought to yield to the various Executive, 
Legislative and Judicial decisions of the question." 

In addition to all these circumstances, the simple 

* See the Address of the Delegates from Maryland, in the 
Harrisburg Convention, to their constituents. These facts will 
be found eloqijently set forth in that able paper. 



fact of Mr. Tyler's presence in the Convention — of 
his silent approval of all those important measures 
which were regarded as consequent upon the elec- 
tion of a Whig President — was, in the minds of hon- 
orable men, equivalent to a pledge that those meas- 
ures would, in any event, continue to meet his ready 
and earnest support. 

Under the influence of considerations like these, 
the Convention unanimously nominated John Tyler, 
of Virginia, for the Vice Presidency ; and, having 
taken this step, adjourned. 

A deep disappointment was felt throughout the 
Whig ranks at the failure of the Convention to no- 
minate Mr. Clay for the Presidency; but the mag- 
nanimous sentiments expressed in his letter, read at 
the Convention, soon began to animate his friends ; 
and they manifested their devotion to principles ra- 
ther titan to men, by rallying vigorously in support 
of the selected candidates. 

With regard to John Tyler, he was very imper- 
fectly known out of Virginia; and if little could be 
said in his favor, still less could he said to his preju- 
dice. The office of Vice President was generally 
regarded as one of comparatively slight conse- 
quence ; and there seemed to be an utter absence of 
all apprehension of the contingency, by which its 
importance was so fearfully magnified. Future 
Conventions will never forget the lesson which Mr. 
Tyler has given to his countrymen and their pos- 
terity. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Mr. Clay again in Congress— Passage with Mr. Calhoun— Recon- 
ciliatory Incident— The Bankrupt lfill,&c.— The Sub-Treasury 
again— A Government Bank— Air. Clay visits his native County 
of Hanover— His Speech— Proposed Reforms— He addresses the 
Harrison Convention :>t Nashville— Democracy— Bom a Demo- 
crat— Reminiscence of a Revolutionary Incident. 

Mr. Clay's efforts in the Democratic Whig cause 
appear not to have been less ardent, incessant and 
faithful, during the Congressional Session of 1839- 
■10, than at any previous period of his career. The 
just expectations of his friends had been thwarted at 
Harrisburg; but that ciicumstance did not seem 
either to aff ct his spirits, or to damp the ardor of 
his opposition to that policy which he believed inju- 
rious to the best interests of his country. He acqui- 
esced promptly, heartily and nobly in the nomina- 
tion of General Harrison, and did not manifest, on 
any occasion, a lurking feeling of disappointment. 
He took an early occasion in the Senate to reiterate 
the sentiments expressed in his letter, read at the 
Convention; and he showed himself prepared to do 
vigorous battle in behalf of the piinciples which ho 
and his associates had been struggling, for the last 
twelve years, to maintain. 

In the Senate, on the third of January, 1840, Mr. 
Southard moved the reconsideration of an order of 
reference of Mr. Calhoun's Land Bill to the Com- 
mittee on Public Lands. The proposition gave rise 
to a passage between Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Clay, iu 
which severe language was employed on both sides. 
Allusion being made to their respective political ca- 
reers at the time of the Force Bill and the Compro- 
mise Act, Mr. Calhoun said that the gentleman from 
Kentucky was flat on his back at that time, and was 
compelled to the Compromise — and that he (Mr. 
Calhoun) was then his master. 



72 



Life of Henry Clay. 



In reply, Mr. Clay, in the ardor of his feeling?, 
remarked : — " The gentleman has said that I was 
' flat on my back — that he was my master on that 
'occasion. He my master! Sir, I would not own 
• him for my slave ! "* 

The principal questions on which he spoke during 
this session were — on the Abolition of Slavery ; on 
the Bankrupt Bill; the Maine Boundary Line; Mr. 
Calhoun's Bill to cede the Public Lands to the 
States in which they lie ; the Navy Appropriation 
Bill ; the Independent Treasury Bill ; on the Branch 
Mints; the Expenditures of Government ; the Cum- 
berland Road; Repeal of the Salt Tax; and the 
Bankrupt Bill. His opinions on nearly all these 
subjects ate so well known as to render a recapitu- 
lation unnecessary. 

Notwithstanding the indications of public hostility, 
and " in spite of the lamentations" in Congress " and 
elsewhere," Mr. Van Buren and his friends contin- 
ued to press their odious Sub-Treasury project, now 
newly christened under the name of the " Independ- 
ent Treasury Bill." Against this measure Mr. Clay 
battled with undiminished vigor and zeal. On the 
twentieth of January, 1840, he addressed the Senate 
in one of his most spirited speeches, in opposition to 
the bill, which he truly designated as a Government 
Bank in disguise, demonstrating the assertion by 
proofs the most convincing. 

" A Government Bank," said Mr. Clay, " may not 
'suddenly burst upon us, but there it is, embodied 
' in this bill. Let the reelection of the present Chief 
' Magistrate be secured, and you will soon see the 
' Bank disclosing its genuine character. But, thanks 
' be to God .' there is a day of reckoning at hand. — 
'All the signs of the times clearly indicate its ap- 
' proach. And on the fourth day of March, in the 
'year of our Lord 1841, 1 trust that the long account 
•of the abuses and corruptions of this Administra- 
• tion, in which this measure will be a conspicuous 
' item, will be finally and for ever adjusted." 

He introduced, on this occasion, a bill for the Re- 
peal of the Sub-Treasury System, but it was not 
acted upon until the will of the People was so per- 
emptorily spoken that longer resistance to it, on the 
part of Mr. Van Buren and his friends, was impos- 
sible. 

During the summer of 1840, Mr. Clay visited his 
native County of Hanover, and was every where 
hailed with enthusiasm and reverence. At a public 
dinner given to him at Taylorsville, June 27th, 1840, 
he addressed a vast assemblage of his friends in a 
speech, which may be referred to as a text book of 
his political faith. It is probably in the hands of too 
manv of our readers to render an abstract of it use- 
ful in this place. Although his opinions on all pub- 
lic questions of importance have been always frankly 

* Mr. Clay is not the man to harbor the harsh feelings some- 
times engendered In animated debate. After his farewell speech. 
on resigning his seat in the Senate, as he was about to leave the 
Chamber, he encountered Mr. Calhoun. They had not spoken 
to each other for five years ; but they now simultaneously ex- 
tended their hands, and cordially greeted each other, while the 
tears sprang to their eyes. They had almost spent their lives to- 
gether in Congress; and during the War, and at various times 
subsequently, had stood shoulder to shoulder, animated by the 
same patriotic impulses and aspirations. Time had passed over 
both, and the young men had become old. For a minute or 
more, they could not speak, so overcome were both with emo- 
tion. At length Mr. Clay said, on parting, "Give my best re- 
gards to Mrs. Calhoun ;" and they bade eacu other farewell. 



avowed, he defines his position in this speech with 
unusual minuteness and precision. With a view to 
the. fundamental character of the Government itself, 
and especially of the Executive branch, he main- 
tains, that there should be — either by amendments 
of the Constitution, when they were necessary, or 
by remedial legislation, when the object fell within 
the scope of the powers of Congress — 

1st. A provision to render a person ineligible to tha 
office of President of the United States after a ser- 
vice of one term. 

2d. That the Veto power should be more precisely 
defined, and be subjected to further limitations and 
qualifications. 

3d. That the power of dismission from office should 
be restricted, and the exercise of it rendered respon- 
sible. 

4th. That the control over the Treasury of the 
United States should be confided and confined ex- 
clusively to Congress ; and all authority of the Pres- 
ident over it, by means of dismissing the Secretary 
of (he Treasury, or other persons having the imme- 
diate charge of it, be rigorously precluded. 

5th. That the appointment of Members of Con- 
gress to any office, or any but a few specific offices, 
during their continuance, in office, and for one year 
thereafter, be prohibited. 

Mr. Clay was among the most active of those, who 
took part in the campaign of 1840, which terminated 
in the complete triumph of the Whigs. On the 17th 
of August, 1840, he addressed the Harrison Conven- 
tion at Nashville, Tennessee, in an interesting and 
eloquent speech. In allusion to the professions of 
the Van Buren party to be Democrats par excellence, 
he very happily said — " Of all their usurpations, I 
know of none more absurd than the usurpation of 
this name." 

" I was born a Democrat," said he, subsequent- 
ly in a speech delivered in Indiana — " rocked ia 
the cradle of the Revolution — and at the darkest 
period of that ever memorable struggle for Free- 
dom. I recollect, in 1781 or '82, a visit made by 
Tarleton's troops to the house of my mother, and 
of their running their swords into the 7iew-made 
graves of my father and grand-father, thinking they 
contained hidden treasures. Though then not more 
than four or five years of age, the circumstance of 
that visit is vividly remembered, and it will be to 
the last moment of my life. I was born a Demo- 
crat — was raised and nurtured a Republican — and 
shall die a Republican, in the faith and principles 
of my fathers." 

CHAPTER XIX 

Election of General Harrison— He visits Mr. Cky— Second Ses- 
sion of the Twenty-Sixth Congress— Inauguration and death 
of General Harrison— The Extra Session— Mr. Clay's Labors- 
John Tyler's Veto of the Bank Fill— Mr. Clay's eloquent 
Speech in Reply to Mr. Rives— The Van Buren men in Con- 
gress call to congratulate John Tyler on his Veto— Mr. Clay's 
fanciful description of the Scene— Events succeeding the 
Veto — More Vetoes— The Tariff— Mr. Clay resigns his 6eat in 
the Senate— Impressive Farewell. 

The election of General Harrison to ihe Presi- 
dency in the autumn of 1840, by an immense ma- 
jority, was hailed by the Whigs as the triumphant 
consummation of their long and arduous twelve 
years' struggle against the disorganizing principles 
and measures which had prevailed during the ascen- 
dency of Jackson and Van Buren. A majority of 
the People had at length passed their solemn ver- 
dict ugaintA i.iose measures, and in favor of the legis- 



Death of President Harrison — Mr. Tyler's Vetoes — A Scene Described. 



73 



lation lor which Mr. Clay and the Whigs in Con- 
gress had been so unanimously contending. Be- 
fore commencing his journey to the Seat of Govern- 
ment, General Harrison visited Mr. Clay, and per- 
sonally tendered him any office in the President's 
gift. Mr. Clay respectfully declined all invitations 
of this kind, and announced his intention of retiring 
from the Senate as soon as the objects for which he 
and his friends had been laboring so strenuously, 
were placed in a train of accomplishment. 

The Session of Congress preceding the new Presi- 
dent's installation found Mr. Clay at his post, still 
prompt and active in the service of his country. On 
the Land Bill — the Repeal of the Sub-Treasury — the 
Bill to establish a Uniform System of Bankruptcy — 
the Treasury Note Bill — the Preemption and Dis- 
tribution project — and other important questions, on 
which his views are familiar to our readers, he ad- 
dressed the Senate with his accustomed eloquence 
and energy. In his Speech of the 23th of January, 
1841, on the Land Bill, he entered into an able vin- 
dication of Whig principles and measures as con- 
trasted with those of the expiring Administration. 
There being still a Van Buren majority, Mr. Clay's 
Resolutions, repealing the Sub-Treasury, after 
affording occasion for some eloquent debates, were 
laid on the table the 19th of February. Some 
remarks being made in the Senate by Mr. Cuthbert, 
toward the close of the Session, of a character 
prejudicial to Mr. Webster, Mr. Clay eloquently 
vindicated that distinguished Senator, and bore tes- 
timony to his exalted merits. 

The Second Session of the Twenty-Sixth Con- 
gress terminated on the night of the 3d of March — 
the Van Buren men having refused to pass a Bank- 
rupt Bill and other important measures. The day 
after the adjournment, General Harrison was inaugu- 
rated President of the United States ; and, on the 18th 
of March, he issued his Proclamation for an Extra 
Session of Congress, to commence on the last Mon- 
day in May. Before that period arrived, and pre- 
cisely a month after his inauguration, the venerable 
President departed this life ; and, by a provision of 
the Constitution, John Tyler of Virginia, the Vice 
President, was invested with the authority of Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

The Extraordinary Session of Congress, convened 
by the Proclamation of the lamented Harrison, took 
place at the appointed time, the last Monday in May, 
1841. Never was there a body of Representatives 
who came together with a more patriotic and honor- 
able desire faithfully to execute the will of their con- 
stituents, the majority of the People of the United 
States, than the Whigs, who composed the Twentv- 
Seventh Congress. Mr. Clay at once took active 
and decided measures for the prompt dispatch of 
the public business. The subjects which he pro- 
posed to the Senate, as proper exclusively to engage 
their deliberations during the Extra Session, were: 

1st. The repeal of the Sub-Treasury Law. 

2d. The incorporation of a Bank adapted to the 
wants of the People and the Government. 

3d. The provision of an adequate Revenue by the 
imposition of Duties, and including an authority to 
contract a temporary Loan to cover the Public Debt 
created by the last Administration. 

4ih. The prospective Distribution of the proceeds 
of the Public Lands. 

5tb. The passage of necessary Appropriation Bills. 



6th. SDme modification in the Banking System of 
the District of Columbia for the benefit of the Peo- 
ple of the District. 

In the formation of Committees, Mr. Clay was 
placed at the head of that on Finance ; and, on his 
motion, a Select Committee on the Currency for the 
consideration of the Bank question was appointed. 
Of this Committee he was made Chairman. Early 
in June he presented hi3 admirable Report of a Plan 
for a National Bank ; and, after a thorough discus- 
sion, the bill was passed, which, on the 16th of 
August, called forth a Veto from President Tyler. 
On the 19th of the same month, Mr. Clay addressed 
the Senate on the subject of this Veto. His remarks, 
although apparently made " more in sorrow than in 
anger," are pervaded by the spirit of unanswerable 
truth ; and, in his rejoinder to Mr. Rives, on the 
same day, he rises to a hight of eloquence never 
surpassed on the floor of Congress. In the opinion 
of many of his hearers, it was one of the most bril- 
liant Speeches of his whole Senatorial career. On 
this occasion he showed, by irresistible proofs, that 
the question of a Bank was the great issue made 
before the People at the late Election. "Wherever 
' I was," said he — " in the great Valley of the 
' Mississppi — in Kentucky — in Tennessee — in Mary- 
' land — in all the circles in which I moved, every 
' where, Bank or No Bank was the great, the lead- 
' ing, the vital question." 

Not long after the Veto, as Mr. Clay, with two or 
three friends, was passing the Treasury Buildings, 
along the road leading to the Pennsylvania Avenue, 
he noticed a procession of gentlemen walking two 
by two, toward the White House. " In the name 
of wonder, what have we here?" exclaimed Mr. 
Clay, while his features lighted up with one of those 
mischievous smiles, which are so contagious, seen 
on his countenance. It teas a procession of the 
Van Buren Members of Congress, going person- 
ally to congratulate John Tyler on his Veto ! 

The incident was not forgotten by Mr. Cluy. The 
scene was too rich and piquant to pass unnoticed. 
On the 2d of September, a suitable opportunity pre- 
sented itself in the Senate for a commentary on the 
occurrence; and he availed himself of it in a man- 
ner, which entirely overcame the gravity of all par- 
ties present. He gave an imaginary description of 
the scene at the White House, and the congratu- 
lations lavished upon the President by his new 
friends. He pictured to the Senate the honorable 
member from Pennsylvania (Mr. Buchanan) ap- 
proaching the Throne, and contributing his words 
of encouragement and praise to those, which had 
been offered by the rest. The imaginary speech, 
which he put into the lips of this gentleman on this 
occasion, was so characteristic, that Mr. Buchanan 
subsequently complained in the Senate, that it had 
been gravely attributed to him by several journals 
as having been actually delivered, and that he could 
not divest many of his worthy constituents in Penn- 
sylvania of the idea. 

The figure of Mr. Benton was one of too much 
importance not to be introduced by Mr Clay into 
this fancy sketch. 

" I can tell the gentleman from Kentucky, that I 
was not at the White House on the occasion to 
which he alludes," said the Missouri Senator inter- 
rupting him. 



74 



Life of Henry Clay. 



" Then I will suppose what the gentleman would 
have said if he had heen present," continued Mr. 
Clay, without suffering his imagination to he check- 
ed in its flight. And he then represented the wordy 
and pompous Missourian bowing at the Executive 
footstool, and tendering his congratulations. 

The space to which we have been restricted, will 
not allow us to present even an imperfect sketch of 
the whole scene. We can only refer the reader to 
it as one of the most felicitous of those legitimate 
presentations of the ludicrous, made to illustrate 
the true, which sometimes occur to enliven the bar- 
renness of legislative debate. 

The events which succeeded the Veto are too re- 
cent in the minds of the People to render a minute 
enumeration necessary here. They are forcibly 
summed up in Mr. Adams's excellent Report on the 
President's Veto of the Revenue Bill. A second 
Bank Bill, shaped to meet the avowed views of the 
President, was prepared, passed, and then vetoed. 
The Cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Webster, 
resigned ; and the great purpose for which the Spe- 
cial Session of Congress had been called was defeat- 
ed by the will of one man, who owed his influential 
position to his professed attachment to Whig princi- 
ples, and his declared preference for Mr. Clay as a 
candidate for the Presidency. 

Mr. Clay was unremitted in his application to the 
public business during the Extra Session. He spoke 
on a great variety of questions, and, being at the 
head of two important Committees, performed a great 
amount of hard work. Although his principal mea- 
sure lor the public relief was defeated by the unlook- 
ed-for defection of John Tyler, he had the satisfac- 
tion of aiding in the Repeal of the odious Sub-Trea- 
sury System — in the passage of the Bankrupt Law 
— and in the final triumph of his favoiite measure, 
often baffled but still persevered in, the Distribution 
of the Sales of the Public Lands. By the provisions 
of this last law, Distribution was to cease whenever 
the average rate of Duties on Imports should exceed 
20 per cent. 

A Revision of the Tariff, rendered necessary by 
the expiration of the Compromise Act, was also un- 
dertaken. This was the most important subject 
which engaged the attention of the Twenty-Seventh 
Congress, at its first regular session. To meet the 
exigency of the occasion, a Provisional Bill, sus- 
pending the operation of the Distribution Bill for one 
month, as well in consequence of a lack of funds in 
the Treasury, as of a desire on the part of Congress 
to give more mature consideration to the subject of 
a Tariff, was passed. But it encountered still ano- 
ther and another Veto from the President. 

It has been asserted that Mr. Clay and his friends 
did not desire an adjustment of the Tariff question, 
during the Session of 1841-2. Nothing could be 
more unfounded than this charge. In spite of dis- 
comfiture and mortification, they persevered in their 
efforts for the relief of the country, and eventually 
surrendered the Distribution clause to meet the views 
of the President; and the Tariff Bill finally became 
a law, through the patriotic endeavors of the friends 
of Mr. Clay, notwithstanding the attempt of Mr. Ty- 
ler to crush their energies and arouse their opposi- 
tion. 

On the thirty-first of March, 1842, after one of the 
longest Congressional careers known in our annals, 



Mr. Clay resigned his seat in the Senate of the Uni- 
ted States. It having been previously understood 
that he would take occasion, in presenting the Cre- 
dentials of his successor, Mr. Crittenden, to make 
some valedictory remarks, the Senate Chamber was, 
at an early hour, crowded to its utmost capacity, by 
Members of the other House, and by a large assem- 
blage of citizens and ladies. Some of Mr. Clay's 
best friends had looked forward with apprehension 
to this event — wearing the aspect, as it did, of a for- 
mal and appointed leave-taking. They remembered 
that there was but one step from the sublime to the 
ridiculous, and they dreaded lest the truly impress- 
ive chaiacter of the occasion might be marred, or di- 
vested of its dignity, by any farewell words. But 
Mr. Clay had hardly risen to speak before their ap- 
prehensions were lost and forgotten in a deep and 
absorbing interest in the language that flowed calm- 
ly, smoothly and majestically from his lips. He re- 
ferred to the period of his first entrance into the Sen- 
ate, in 1806. He paid a merited compliment to the 
high character of that body, and to the ability of its 
individual Members; but added that, full of attrac* 
tion as was a seal in that Chamber, to fill the aspi- 
rations of the most ambitious heart, he had long de- 
termined to forego it, and to seek repose among the 
calm pleasures of " home." 

It had been his purpose, he said, to terminate his 
connection with the Senate in November, 1840. Had 
President Harrison lived, and the measures devised 
at the Extra Session been fully carried out, he 
would have then resigned his seat. But the hope 
that at the Regular Session the measures left un- 
done might he still perfected, induced him to post- 
pone his determination; and events, which arose af- 
ter the Extra Session, resulting from the failure of 
those measures which had been proposed at that 
Session, and which appeared to throw on his politi- 
cal friends a temporary show of defeat, confirmed 
him in the resolution to attend the present Session 
also — and, whether in prosperity or adversity, to 
share the fortune of his friends. But he resolved, at 
the same time, to retire as soon as he could do so 
with propriety and decency. Mr. Clay then con- 
tinued as follows: 

" From 1806, the period of my entry on this noble 
theatre, with short intervals, to the present time, I 
have been engaged in the public councils, at home 
and abroad. Of the nature or the value of the ser- 
vices rendered during that long and arduous period 
of my life, it does not become me to speak ; history, 
if she deigns to notice me, or posterity, if the recol- 
lections of my humble actions shall be transmitted 
to posterity, are the best, the truest, the most im- 
partial judges. When dealh has closed the scene, 
their sentence will be pronounced, and to that I op- 
peal and refer myself, ftly nets and public conduct 
are a fair subject for the criticism and judgment of 
my fellow-men; but the private motives by which 
they have been prompted — they are known only to 
the great Searcher of the human heart and to my- 
self; and I trust I may be pardoned for repeating a 
declaration made some thirteen years ago, that, 
whatever errors — and doubtless they ha\e been 
main — mav be discovered in a review of my public 
service to the country, I can with unshaken confi- 
dence appetil to the Divine Arbiter for the truth of 
the declaration, that 1 have been influenced by 
no impure purposes, no personal motive — have 
sought no personal agarnndiseinent; but that in all 
my public arts I have bail a sole and single eve, 
and a warm and deuxed heart, directed and dedica- 



Retiracy from the Senate — Return to Kentucky — Remarks on Slavery. 



75 



ted to what, in my judgment, I believed to be the 
true interest of my country." 

Mr. Clay then alluded to the fact, that in common 
with other public men he had not enjoyed an immuni- 
ty from censure and detraction. But he had not been 
unsustained. And here the allusion to the persecu- 
tions of his assailants led to the mention of Ken- 
tucky, the State of his adoption — noble Kentucky — 
who, when the storm of calumny raged the fiercest, 
and he seemed to be forsaken by all the rest of the 
world, threw her broad and impenetrable shield 
around him, and bearing him up aloft in her coura- 
geous arms repelled the poisoned shafts aimed for 
his destruction. As Mr. Clay uttered the name of 
Kentucky, his feelings overpowered him — the strong 
man was bowed with emotion — he passed his fin- 
gers before his eyes for a moment — then rallied, and 
proceeded with his remarks. To the charge of 
Dictatorship, which was so often in the mouths of 
his opponents at that time, Mr. Clay replied tem- 
perately and happily. We can quote but a fragment 
of this portion of his Valedictory Address : 

" That my nature is warm, my temper ardent, my 
disposition, espe.cially in relation to the public ser- 
vice, enthusiastic, I am fully ready to own; and 
those who supposed that I have been assuming the 
Dictatorship, have only mistaken for arrogance or 
assumption that fervent ardor and devotion which 
is natural to rny constitution, and which I may have 
displayed with no little regard to cold, calculating 
ami cautious prudence, in sustaining and zealous- 
ly supporting important National measures of policy 
which I have presented and proposed." 

The truly generous qualities of Mr. Clay's na- 
ture shine forth from every line of the following pas- 
sage : 

" During a long and arduous career of service in 
the public councils of my country, especially dur- 
ing the last eleven years I have held a seat in the 
Senate, from the same ardor and enthusiasm of 
character, I have no doubt, in the heat of debate, 
and in an honest endeavor to maintain rny opinions 
against adverse opinions equally honestly enter- 
tanipd, as to the best course to be adopted for the 
public welfare, I may have often inadvertently or 
unintentionally, in moments of excited debate, made 
use of language that has been offensive, and sus- 
ceptible of injurious interpretation toward my brother 
Senators. If there be any- here who retain wound- 
ed feelings of injury or dissatisfaction produced on 
such occasions, I beg to assure them that I now of- 
fer the amplest apology for any departure on my part 
from the established rules of parliamentary deco- 
rum and courtesy. On the other hand, I assure the 
Senators, one and all, without exception and with- 
out reserve, that I retire from this Senate Chamber 
without carrying with me a single feeling of resent- 
ment or dissatisfaction towards the Senate or any of 
its membets." 

Mr. Clay concluded this memorable address by 
invoking, in a tone which thrilled through every 
heart, the blessings of Heaven upon the whole Sen- 
ate and every member of it. The hushed suspense 
of intense feeling and attention pervaded the crowd- 
ed assemblage as he sat down. For nearly half a 
minute after he had finished no one spoke — no one 
moved. There was not a dry eye in the Senale 
Chamber. Men of all parties seemed equally over- 
come by ihe pathos and majesty of that farewell. — 
At length Mr. Preston, of South Carolina, rose and 
remarked, that what had just taken place was an 
epoch in their legislative history ; and, from the feel- 
ing which was evinced, he plainly saw that there 



was little disposition to attend to business. He 
would therefore move that the Senate adjourn. 

The motion was unanimously agreed to; but 
even then the whole audience seemed to remain 
spell-bound by the effect of those parting tones of 
Mr. Clay. For several seconds no one stirred. " In 
all probability we should have remained there to 
this hour," said an honorable Senator to us recent- 
ly, in describing the scene, " had not Mr. Clay him- 
self risen, and moved towards the area." And then 
at length, slowly and reluctantly, the assemblage 
dispersed. 

Shortly after the adjournment, as Mr. Calhoun 
was crossing the Senate Chamber, he and Mr. Clay 
encountered. For five years they had been estran- 
ged ; and the only words which had passed between 
them had been those harshly spoken in debate. But 
now, as they thus inadvertently met, the old times 
came over them. They remembered only their po- 
litical companionship of twenty years' standing. — 
The intervening differences, which had chilled their 
hearts towards each other, were forgotten. The tears 
sprang to their eyes. They shook each other cor- 
dially by the hand — interchanged a "God bless 
you!" and parted. We have alluded elsewhere 
briefly to this scene. It was a happy sequel to the 
leading events of the day. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Return to Kentucky— Speech at Lexington — Visits Indiana- 
Scene with Mr. Mendenhall— Remarks on Slavery — Person- 
al Matters — Slanders Refuted — The Dayton Convention — 
Visit to the South- West— Triumphal Progress — Return Home 
—Contemplated Visit to the South -East— Letters on the 
Tariff— Letter to the Whigs of Fayette County, Va., in re- 
gard to John Tyler— Again Visits New-Orleans— Addresses 
the Whig Convention— Leaves New-Orleans on his way to 
North-Carolina. 

On his return to Kentucky, after retiring from 
public life, Mr. Clay was received with all those 
manifestations of enthusiastic affection which it is 
possible for a grateful constituency to exhibit. On 
the 9th of June, 1842, he partook of a public enter- 
tainment or Barbecue, given in his honor near Lex- 
ington. 

The speech which he delivered on this occasion 
is probably fresh in the recollection of many of our 
readers. Containing as it does many personal re- 
miniscences of his past career, and a review of those 
leading questions of policy upon which we have al- 
ready given his opinions, it is one of the most inter- 
esting of his numerous addresses to popular assem- 
blies. 

Early in October, 1842, being on a visit to Rich- 
mond, in the State of Indiana, the occasion of 
his meeting a large concourse of his fellow citizens 
was seized upon by a number of his politioal oppo- 
nents to present him with a petition praying him to 
emancipate his slaves in Kentucky. It was thought 
that even Henry Clay would be nonplussed and 
embarrassed by so inopportune and unexpected an 
appeal. A Mr. Mendenball was selected to present 
him with the petition, and expectation was raised to 
the highest pitch among the few who were in the se- 
cret, and who were far from being Mr. Clay's well- 
wishers, to hear what he would say. Never did he 
acquit himself more felicitously than on this occa« 
tion. 



76 



Life of Henry Clay. 



The indignation was great among; the assembly 
when they learned the object with which Mr. Men- 
denhall had made his way through their midst to 
the spot where Mr. Clay stood. They regarded it 
as an insult to him and his friends ; and the proba- 
bility is, that Mr. Mendenhall would have had some 
palpable proof of their sense of his impertinence, 
had not Mr. Clay instantly appealed to the assem- 
bly in the following terms : 

"J. hope that Mr. Mendenhall maybe treated with 
the greatest forbearance and respect. I assure my 
fellow citizens, here collected, that ihe presentation 
of the petition has not occasioned the slightest pain, 
nor excited one solitary disagreeable emotion. If 
it were lo be presented to me, I prefer that it 
should be done in the face of this vast assemblage. 
I think I can give it such an answer as becomes me 
and the subject of which it treats. At all events, I 
entreat and beseech rny fellow citizens for their 
sake, for my sake, to offer no disrespect, no indig- 
nity, no violence, in word or deed, to Mr.Mendenhall." 

Then, turning to Mr. Mendenhall : " Allow me to 
' say," said Mr. C, " that I think you have not con- 
' formed to the independent character of an Ameri- 
'can citizen in presenting a. petition to me. A 
' petition, as the term implies, generally proceeds 
'from an inferior in power or station to a superior; 
' but between us there is entire equality." 

Mr. Clay remarked, in continuation, that he de- 
sired no concealment of bis opinions in regard to 
the institution of Slavery. He looked upon it as a 
great evil, and deeply lamented that we had derived 
it from the Parental Government and from our ances- 
tors. But, wiihoutany knowledge of tne relation in 
which lie stood to his Slaves, or their individual con- 
dition, Mr. Mendenhall and his associates had pre- 
sented a petition calling upon him forthwith to 
liberate the whole of them. 

" Now let me tell you," said Mr. C. " that some half 
a dozen of them, from age, decrepitude or infirmity, 
are wholly unable to gain a livelihood for them- 
selves, and are a heavy charge upon me. Do you 
think that I should conform lo the dictates of hu- 
manity by ridding myself of that charge, and send- 
ing them forth into the world, with the boon of 
liberty, to end a wretched existence in starvation''" 

In conclusion, Mr. Clay admirably exposed the 
liypocrasy of the petitioners by the following pro- 
position, in regard to which they have never taken 
any steps : 

" I shnll, Mr. Mendenhall, take your petition into 
respecttul and delibemte consideration ; but before 
1 come to a final decision, I should like to know 
what you and your associates are trilling to do for 
ihe Slaves in rny possession, if I should think pro- 
per to iibirnie them. I own about fifty, who are 
proUtbly worth fifteen thousand dollars. To turn 
them loose upon society without any means of sub- 
sistence or support would be an act of cruelly. Are » 
you willing to raise and secure the payment of fif- 
teen thousand dollars for their benefit, if I should 
be induced to {ree them ? The secuiity of the pay- 
ment of that sum would materially lessen the ob- 
stacle in the way of iheir emancipation." 

Mr. Clay finished his remarks with some friendly 
advice to Mr. Mendenhall, which it is probable that 
individual will never forget. The tables were com- 
pletely turned upon those who had thought to annoy 
and embarrass the great Kentuckian. The bearer 
of the petition and bis associates were suffered lo 
slink away unnoticed and unheeded by the crowd. 



As the period for a new Presidential election ap- 
proaches, the enemies of Mr. Clay are circulating 
the grossest misrepresentations in regard to his con- 
duct as a slave-holder and his opinions upon the 
subject of the institution of Slavery. A Mr. James 
Channing Fuller, who according to his own showing, 
smuggled himself into the kitchen at Ashland and 
interrogated the slaves, in the absence of Mr. Clay 
from home, has published a statement in relation to 
Mr. Clay's domestic affairs, full of the most ridicu- 
lous falsehoods. One of the slaves, named Darkey, 
who seems to have been very communicative in 
" humbugging" the fellow, on being asked why she 
had told him such big stories, replied : " Why, the 
man came sneaking about the house like a fool, aud 
I thought I would make a bigger fool of him." 

A Mr. Abel Brown, who was indicted not long 
since for libel by the Grand Jury of Albany, has 
also been busy in propagating the vilest slanders in 
regard to Mr. Clay's conneciion with the slave- 
holding interest. We need only stamp them as de- 
liberate and malicious falsehoods, wholly unsustain- 
ed by the slightest shadow of proof. 

The Lexington Intelligencer says : 

" Mr. Clay owns about fifty slaves. Several of 
them, from age and infirmity, are an absolute charge 
upon him. His allowance of food to them, is a 
pound of bacon per day for adult men, and in that 
proportion for women and children— free access to 
the meal-tub for bread, and plenty of vegetables. 
Mo.-t of them raise fowls. They are well cloihed 
and housed, and the tasks given "them are verv light, 
insomuch, that during the season of breaking" hemp, 
some of the men can earn their dollar per day. 
Their attachment to Mr. Clay is strong. Charles 
has travelled with him through the greater part of 
the United States and both the Canadas. When at 
the Falls of Niagara, three years ago, Mr. Ciay was 
asked by a friend if he was sure of Charles's fidelity ; 
for that some Abolitionists had been attempting to 
seduce him from his service. Mr. Clay replied that 
they were welcome to get him off if ihey could. He 
might go if he pleased ; he would be only anticipating 
his freedom a few days. Jn Canada, Charles was 
again importuned and teased, until excessively 
vexed, he turned upon his tormentors and told them 
that he would not leave his master for both of ilie 
Queen's Provinces. Charles's wife, a free woman 
and her childien, all live upon Mr. Clay's place and 
are chiefly supported by him, without rendering any 
equivalent." 

There has never been any concealment on Mr. 
Clay's part of his opinions on the subject of Slavery. 
Through the whole course of this Memoir they will 
be found scattered, from the period when he first 
advocated the gradual eradication of Slavery from 
Kentucky in 1797 to the present moment. In his 
speech before the Colonization Society in 1827, (see 
Chapter X. of the present work,) nothing can be 
more explicit than the language he employs. We 
refer those who would be enlightened further in re- 
gard to his views, to that eloquent address. 

On the 29th of September, 1842, Mr. Clay attended 
the great Whig Convention at Dayton, Ohio, where 
One Hundred Thousand Whigs are believed to 
have been assembled. 

" At 8 o'clock," says one of the actors in the 
scene, " when every street in the city was filled, 
' and there seemed no resting-place for any, the pro- 
' cession was formed. This occupied a long time. 
' When done, the order, « March ! ' was given ; and, 



Visit to the South.West—The Tariff of 1842— Letters on the Tariff. 



77 



•in solid mass, we moved to welcome the great 
•Statesman, Henry Clay, into the city. He was 
•met near the city, and, at half-past 9 o'clock, 

• readied the neighborhood of the National Hotel. 

• Here a bf-autiful sight was witnessed. One hun- 
' dred and twenty-five children, as the honest patriot 
•approached, welcomed him with songs! Their 

sweet voices rang out in merry peals, and the mul- 

• titude responded to it with the heartiest enthusiasm. 
' After this, Mr. Clay occupied a stand for some time, 

• as the procession passed by, welcoming him to Ohio, 
' and in return receiving his salutations. 

" When the procession had passed, Mr. Clay re- 
' tired into the Hotel. Governor Metcalf then ap- 
' peared at the window, and delivered a Speech— 
' returning the thanks of Kentucky for the warm- 
' hearted "reception they had met with, and bid- 
' ding all who loved the name of American to rally 
' together in defence of American Liberty and Ameri- 

' can Labor. 

" Mr. Schenek read Resolutions, prepared by the 
•Committee, nominating Henry Clay and John 
' Davis for the Whig candidates for 1844. At this 
' time Mr. Clay was seen in the crowd, and then, as 
' if there had been one voice only, the shout went 
' forth for the Statesman of the Nation. He answered 
'it; and, in a Speech of two hours, plain, yet elo- 
' quent, he spoke, concealing no opinion, disguising 
' no wish, the multitude all the while listening with 
' eager attention and breathless silence. And such 
'a Speech! It was a master-effort of a master- 

' spirit." 

Of this tremendous meeiing Mr. Clay afterward 
remarked, that of all the crowds in Europe or else- 
where he never saw one so great. A vast sea of 
human heads surrounded the platform, covering 

many acres. 

In the month of December, 1342, Mr. Clay, having 
private business in New-Orleans, where one of his 
married daughters resides, visited that city, stop- 
ping at Natchez and other places on his route. He 
was every where received by the People with such 
enthusiastic demonstrations of popular affection as 
had never before been bestowed upon any American 
except Washington. 

On his return homeward from Louisiana, about 
the middle of February, 1843, his progress was 
continually impeded by vast assemblages of the 
people to meet and welcome him. At Mobile, on 
the 2d of February, and at Vicksburg, on the 20th 
of February, an immense concourse of citizens col- 
lected to offer the tribute of their gratitude and 
respect. The Hon. S. S. Prentiss addressed him, 
on the latter occasion, in that strain of fluent and 
impassioned eloquence for which that young and 
gifted orator is distinguished. 

At Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, Mr. Clay 
was met and welcomed by the largest concourse 
ever assembled in the State. At Memphis, Ten- 
nessee, crowds of citizens from the surrounding 
region assembled to tender him their affectionate 
respects, to look on and listen to the greatest living 
champion of their Country's honor and interests. 
Thus felicitated and welcomed on his route, Mr. 
Clav, with more than a conqueror's trophies, re- 
turned, in fine health and spirits, to Ashland, just 
lis Spring was beginning to fringe with green the 
old oaks that waved around his homestead. 



Early in April he adJrcssed a large body of hia 
fellow citizens in the Court-House yard at Lexing- 
ton; and, in the course of his remarks, acknow- 
ledged, in appropriate language, the attentions 
which had been paid to him and the honors which 
had been showered upon him by all parties during 
his late trip to the South-west. 

It having been understood that Mr. Clay would 
make a tour to the South-east during the autumn of 
1843, innumerable letters from Committees in all 
sections of the country were poured in upon him, 
requesting him to visit a multitude of places, both 
on his route and aside from it. The task of reply- 
ing to these letters must alone have been exceeding- 
ly laborious. North Carolina was, we believe, the 
first to claim from him a visit. In his reply to a 
Committee of citizens of Raleigh, dated 10th July, 
1843, he consents to pay a visit, some time in the 
course of the next spring to that State, which was 
" the first to declare the Independence of the Colo- 
' nies, and will be among the last to abandon the 
'support of the Union." 

Several letters from Mr. Clay on the subject of the 
Tariff appeared, during the Summer of 1843. No- 
thing could be more explicit and undisguised than 
the expression of his views. In his reply, dated 13th 
September, 1843, to a letter from F. S. Bronson, 
Esq., of Georgia, asking his opinions in regard to 
the Protective policy of 1832, he writes : 

" The sum and substance of what I conceive to be 
the true policy of the United States, in respect to a 
Tariff, may be briefly stated. In conformity with 
the principle announced in the Compromise Act, I 
think, that whatever revenue is necessary to an eco- 
nomical and honest administration of the General 
Government, ought to be derived from duties, impo- 
sed on Foreign imports. And I believe that, in es- 
tablishing a Tariff of those duties, such a discrimi- 
nation ought to be made, as will incidentally afford 
reasonable protection to our national interests. 

" I think there is no danger of a high Tariff being 
ever established ; that of 1828 was eminently de- 
serving that denomination. I was not in Congress 
when it passed, and did not vote for it; but with its 
history and with the circumstances which gave birth 
to it, 1 am well acquainted. They were highly dis- 
creditable to American legislation and I hope, for 
its honor, will never be again repeated. 

" After my return to Congress in 1831, my efforts 
were directed to the modification and reduction of 
the rates of duty contained in the act of 1828. The 
act of 1832 greatly reduced and modified them; and 
the act of 1833, commonly called the Compromise 
Act, still farther reduced and modified them. The 
act which passed at the Extra Session of 1841, 
which I supported, was confined to the free articles. 
I had resigned my seat in the Senate when the act 
of 1842 passed. Generally, the duiies which it im- 
poses are lower than those' in the act of 1832. And, 
without intending to express any opinion upon eve- 
ry item of this last Tariff, I would say that I think 
tiie provisions, in the maiu, are wise and proper. If 
there be any excesses or defects in it, (of which I 
have not the means here of judging,) they ought to 
be corrected. 

" My opinion, that there is no danger hereafter of 
a high Tariff, is founded on the gratifying fact that 
our manufactures have now taken a deep root. Jn 
their infancy, they needed a greater measure of pro- 
tection ; but, as they grow and advance, they ac- 
quire strength and stability, and, consequently, will 
require less protection. Even now, some branches 
of them are able to maintain, in distant markets, 
successful competition with rival foreign manufac- 
tures." 



78 



Life of Henry Clay. 



By this it will be seen, that Mr. Clay is in favor 
of sustaining the present Tariff; and that, so far 
from contemplating higher and higher duties, he be- 
lieves that the rapid and constant progress of our 
Manufactures tends ever to diminish instead of in- 
creasing the necessity for decidedly protective duties. 
He never was in favor of a high tarifi. In his own lan- 
guage, he believes : "that the Revenue from the Gen- 
' eral Government should be derived from the Foreign 
' imports to the exclusion of direct taxes, and the 
'proceeds of the sales of Public Lands; and that no 
' more revenue should be levied than is necessary to 
' an economical administration of the Government; 
' but that in levying it such discriminations ought to 
'he made as will afford moderate and reasonable pro- 
' tection to American interests against the rival and 
' prohibitory policy of Foreign Powers." 

Notwithstanding these clear and unequivocal dec- 
larations, the attempt is frequently made to misre- 
present Mr. Clay's views in regard to the Tariff. 
Surely there is no longer any excuse for ignorance 
upon this subject among persons claiming to be in- 
telligent. 

The Whigs of Fayette County, Virginia, some 
time in September, 1843, wrote to Mr. Clay request- 
ing him to favor them with a visit on his way to or 
return from North Carolina. By the following ex- 
tracts from his reply, it will be seen that he is far 
from disguising his sentiments in regard to Mr. 
Tyler: 

'• The treachery, Gentlemen, of the acting Presi- 
dent, to which you allude in terms of just indigna- 
tion, is mortifying to us as Americans. 

" Considering the youth of our Republic, and the 
virtuous and illustrious men who have filled the of- 
fice of Chief Magistrate of the Union, it is painful 
in the extreme to behold such an example of utter 
abandonment of all the obligations of honor, of duty 
and of fidelity. But, far from allowing that de- 
griding fact to throw us into a state of apathy and 
despondency, it ought to stimulate every American 
freeman to redouble, his energies in rescuing his 
Government from the impure hands into which it 
has accidentally fallen. 

" Against Mr. Tyler no exertion is necessary. He 
will soon retire with the contempt and amidst the 
scoffs of all honorable men. Our efforts should be 
directed against those who first seduced and then 
profited by him; those who, after having won him 
to tlu-ir uses now affect to shrink from the contami- 
nating association ; those who after his complete 
identification with them, and at the moment when 
he is appropriating to their exclusive advantage the 
whole patronage of the Government, unjustly up- 
braid us with the failure of measures, the adoption 
of which was prevented by his perfidy and their 
countenance and support of him." 

In December, 1843, Mr. Clay's private affairs 
again required his presence in New-Orleans. He 
was welcomed on his route to that city by the same 
testimonials of popular attachment that had signal- 
ized his journey of the preceding year; and, during 
his residence in the great Southern Metropolis, citi- 
zens of all ponies seemed to unite in doing him 
honor. Before his departure, the State Convention 
of the Democratic Whigs of Louisiana, which was 
holding its session at the time, formed in proces- 
sion, the 23d Fi bruary, 1844, and marched to the 
St. Charles Hotel, where he was staying, to tender 
their respects. His reply to their enthusiastic con- 
gratulations was brief but to the point: 

"You call for a speech from me, my fellow-citi- 



zens : It is not proper that I should make a speech, 
and I Kill not make a speech. But this 1 may say 
to you — you are engaged in a good cause, an honest 
cause, a glorious cause : the principles which you 
are advocating tend to the advancement of the pros- 
perity of the Republic, and I will tell you that from 
all quarters— from the farthest corners of Maine 
to the extremest points of Louisiana, the signs of 
the times are propitious, and not a speck obscures 
the horizon. Go on, then! Go ahead!" 

On the 25th February, Mr. Clay reached Mobile 
on his way to North Carolina. Although it was 
the Sabbath, and of course no civic ceremonies de- 
noted the welcome which v> as swelling in every 
bosom, yet the wharves were lined with a dense and 
innumerable throng, eager to catch a glimpse of 
him as he disembarked. On the next day he was 
to receive his fellow citizens at the Mansion House. 
The Advertiser of the 26th says: "Mr. Clay, we 
' are pleased to add, is looking in fine health, and 
' promises to live yet many years, the benefactor and 
' the pride of his country." 

On the5th March, he left Mobile for Montgomery, 
Columbus, Ga., Macon and other intermediate cities 
on his route, followed by the best hopes of the peo- 
ple for his health, prosperity and elevation to the 
Chief Magistracy of the Republic in November next. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

Mr. Rives's Letter in fnvor of Mr. Clay— Review of Mr. Clay's 
Personal History— His successes at the Bar — Chief Justice 
Marshall's Opinion of his Talents— Personal Description— His 
Manners ana Mode of Address— Richard M. Johnson's Esti- 
timateof Mr. Clay's Abilities— Anecdotes— Conclusion. 

One of the most cheering evidences of the wide- 
spread reaction in the public mind in favor of 
Mr. Clay may be found in the letter of theHon. Wil- 
liam C. Rives, U. States Senator from Virginia, 
dated January 1st, 1844, and addressed to Colonel 
Edmund Fontaine, of Hanover County. In this 
manly and eloquent letter, Mr. Rives states the 
grounds of his preference for Mr. Clay over Mr. Van 
Buren as a candidate for the Presidency in plain 
and forcible terms. The following passages cannot 
be made too familiar to the people of the United 
States : 

"Could any thing inflict a deeper wound on the 
cause of Republican Institutions than such a spec- 
tacle of levity and instability on the part of the con- 
stituent body as would be exhibited in the restoration 
of Mr. Van Buren, after the overwhelming condem- 
nation of his Administration pronounced by the 
almost unanimous electoral voice of the country but 
three short years ago? Would it not render popu 
lar Government a 'by-word and taunt' among the 
Nations ? 

"It is impossible for any reflecting man to con- 
template the actual and prospective condition of the 
country without seeing in it already the germ of new 
difficulties and troubles, which may, in their ap- 
proaching developement, agitate our glorious Union 
to its centre. The Oregon and Texas question in 
our foreign relations; at home, a deficient revenue, 
with all its ordinary sources pressed up to their 
farthest productive limit, and some of them, there 
is reason to apprehend, beyond; the Tariff contro- 
versy reopened, with all the conflicting interests 
and passions which never fail to be awakened by 
it; and added 'to these, the rekindled fires of the 
Abolition excitenn nt— each and ail of them are ques- 
tions which carrv in their bosom the fearful elements 
of civil discord and intestine strife The worst and 
most dangerous aspect they present is, that all of 



Col. R. M. J-hwon's Tribute to Henry Clay — Private History — Conclusion. 



79 



them bring into immediate and opposing array, if 
not into angry and hostile collision, the sectional 
interests and feelings of the different geographical 
divisions of the Confederacy. Whose, at such a 
moment, is the master-spirit that may have power 
to still the rising tempest before it sweeps with de- 
structive fury over the face of our yet happy Union? 
or, should this prove hopeless and impossible, whose 
the commanding genius ' to ride the whirlwind and 
direct the storm?' To preside over the destinies of 
a ureat Republic, in a crisis of such complicated 
difficulty and peril, calls for something more than 
the arts of the mere party politician. It demands the 
highest moral and intellectual qualities of the states- 
man — courage, self-possession, elevation of charac- 
ter and elevation of views; a nobleness and gener- 
osity of nature that attracts confidence, and can in- 
spire enthusiasm; the spirit of persuasion and the 
spirit of command combined. Let the annals of the 
country, in some of the darkest moments which have 
ever lowered upon its fortunes, be consulted, and 
they will answer whether Henry Clay or Martin 
Van Buren is the man for such a crisis." 

Of such paramount interest h ive been the details 
of Mr. Clay's public career that we have but little 
room to bestow upon his private and professional 
history, honorable as it has been to him. We have 
alluded to his early successes at the bar, but space 
fails us in the attempt to supply even an imperfect 
sketch of his numerous triumphant efforts in the 
sphere of his profession. Owing to the more popu- 
lar character of his political labors, he has not en- 
joyed, out of the boundary of the Supreme Court, 
half the reputation which was his due as a jurist of 
extensive attainments and profound ability. But 
we have been assured by Mr. Justice Story, that he 
was regarded by Chief Justice Marshall as second 
to no lawyer in the country in these respects. 
His arguments always evinced great reflection, and 
often great erudition ; and they were of that eleva- 
ted and liberal character, which excluded every aid 
of a narrow or pettifogging cast. We must con- 
tent ourself with a mere reference to this department 
of Mr. Clay's history ; referring the reader to the re- 
ports and records of the United States Courts for 
information in regard to it. 

Henry Clay is now (1844) in his sixty-seventh 
year, and, notwithstanding his varied and arduous 
labors, tasking his mental and physical powers to 
an extraordinary degree, and the several periods of 
dangerous illness, to which he has been subject, he 
bears in his personal appearance the promise of a 
vigorous, healthful and protracted old age. In sta- 
ture he is tall, sinewy, erect and commanding, with 
finely formed limbs and a frame capable of much en- 
durance. From his features you might at first infer 
that he was a hardy backwoodsman, who had been 
accustomed rather to the privations and trials of a 
frontier life than to the arena of debate and the diplo- 
matic table. But when you meet his full, clear, 
gray eye, you see in its flashes the conscious power 
of a well-trained and panoplied intellect as well as 
the glance of an intrepid soul. Its lustre gives ani- 
mation to the whole countenance, and its varying 
expression faitnfully interprets the emotions and 
sentiments of the orator. Much of the charm of his 
speaking lies in his clear, rotund and indescribably 
melodious voice, which is of wide compass, and as 
distinct in its low as in its high tones. The effect of 
it, when a passion is to be portrayed, or a feeling of 
pathos aroused, is like that of a rich instrument upon 
the ear 



Nothing could be more felicitous than Mr. Clay's 
personal manners and mode of address. They im- 
press every one with the conviction that he is a true 
man — that there is no sham about him and his opin- 
: ons. Frank, affable, natural and communicative — 
as much at home among European princes and po- 
tentates as at a Barbecue with his own constituents 
— his perfect self-posstssion and repose of manner 
spring, not so much from long intercourse with the 
world as from that rooted democratic instinct, that 
dignity of character, which looks solely to the in- 
ward man, and sees not the stars and garters with 
which he may be externally decorated. 

Among the eminent men who have borne testimo- 
ny to those qualities, which render Mr. Clay so wor- 
thy a candidate for the highest office in the gift of 
the American people is Col. Richard M.Johnson 
of Kentucky. We are indebted to the Richmond 
Whig for the following anecdote : 

"On the 30th of September last, Col. Johnson be- 
ing in Staunton, Virginia, a number of gentlemen 
paid him the respect ol calling to see him. One of 
the company remarked to him, ' Colonel, when you 
reach the railroad junction, you will be near the 
Slashes ofllanuver.' The honest old warrior's face 
immediately lit up with an expression of sincerity 
and pleasure, and he eloquently said : ' I shall be 
delighted to see that place. Every spot of ground 
Henry Clay touches he immortalizes. I have been 
in public life for forty years, and in that time have 
been associated with all the great men of the coun- 
try. Leaving out Madison and Gallatin, who were 
old men when I first stepped upon the theatre of 
politics, I will place Jefferson first, then Henry 
Clay. He is a perfect Hercules in all the qualities 
that can adorn human nature. Some men may ex- 
cel him in a single quality — for instance, Webster 
may be a greater logician, or some may be more re- 
nowned for deep researches, but take Clay all in 
nil, he has not an equal in the Union, either in the 
North or South — the East or the West. In moral 
courage — in physical courage — in oratory — in pat- 
riotism, and in every noble quality, he is without a 
superior. I have been associated with him on Com- 
mittees in connexion with Calhoun, Lowndes, 
Cheves, Webster, and other distinguished individu- 
als, but Clay was always the master-spirit. We 
looked up to him as the Ajax Telamon ; and by his 
counsel we were guided in our deliberations. If the 
rest of the Committee assembled before him and 
were in doubt how to proceed, when he made 
his appearance, all eyes were turned upon him — and 
we weie certain to be right when we followed his 
opinion. He is a great man, a very great man." 

As a writer, Mr. Clay will creditably compare 
with any of the public men of the day. His style is 
singularly perspicuous, simple, forcible and correct, 
evincing a preference for good old Saxon words over 
those derived from the Latin and Greek languages. 
In this respect, it is perfectly Addisonian. His in- 
structions to the Ministers sent to the Congress of 
Panama, his Land Report of 1832, his Report on the 
differences with France, and numerous documents 
which emanated from his pen while he was at the 
head of the Department of State, may be referred 
to not only as papers evincing masterly statesman- 
ship, but as excellent specimens of "English unde- 
filed." 

In his tastes and habits of life, he is remarkably 
simple and unostentatious. On his fine estate of 
Ashland, he has for many years devoted his leisure 
to superintending the breeding and raising of cattle, 
on an extensive scale, and no man has done better 



80 



Life of Henry Clay. 



service to the farming interests of the country. He 
is an early riser, and methodical and industrious in 
die disposition of his time. 

In early life, Mr. Clay had a fondness for play — 
not for the sake of the money sported — but for the 
company and the excitement. He has, on several 
occasions given up large sums that be had won, 
and often saved men from ruin. He has never played 
at a public table or at gambling houses. For upwards 
of thirty years he has not played at any game of 
hazard. We mention these facts because there is 
much misrepresentation abroad on the subject; and 
the most grossly exaggerated stories have been 
made current by his enemies. We have fairly stated 
the head and front of his offending. 

As an instance of that magnanimity which Mr. 
Clay carries into all the transactions of life, we may 
quote the following facts from the Cleveland (Ohio) 
Herald, of April, 1843 : 

" A near relative of Mr. Clay, residing in his vici- 
nity, who has been largely engaged in the purchase 
and manufacture of hemp, for bagging and bale- 
rope, for the New-Orleans market, by the fall in 
value, and the embarrassments of the times, which 
have been felt with prodigious force for a year past, 
in the great Souih-Western Emporium, was lately 
compelled to make an assignment of his property to 
trustees, for the benefit of all his creditors. The 
whole amount of his liabilities was rear $50,000 — 
about one-half of which was due to Mr. Clay for ad- 
vances to enable the manufacturer to prosecute his 
business, so advantageous to the farming interests of 
Kentucky, with the hope of an improvement in the 
condition of things, so that a suspension of the work 
and of the payment might be avoided. 

" The sale of the property took place about a 
fortnight ago, and as usual in such cases attracted 
several hundred persons, and among them many of . 
the creditors. Mr. Clay then told them in substance 
that the assignment was for the benefit of all the 
creditors, himself included— that the amount due 
him was as large as all the other claims combined 
— that from the relationship in which he stood to the 
debtor, it was probable some, and perhaps many of 
the creditors, had become such under the expecta- 
tion that, if difficulty occurred, he, Mr. Clay, would 
protect them — that although there was no ground 
whatever for asking him to do so, yet, rather than 
that any man should think he had the slightest rea- 
son to complain of him, and in order further that 
every debt due to others should be paid, he now re- 
leased all interest under the assignment until every 
dollar due to others was paid, and then if any thing 
was left he would take it. The sale was made— the 
other creditors were all paid, and what little remain- 
ed was all Mr. Clay got for his $25,000. 
" How different this from the ordinary course, when 
Mr. Clay, being the confidential creditor, would 
have been first paid, and in this case the only one 
paid, and who but Henry Clay could be found, under 
such circumstances, to reject the whole or at any 
rute his share of the proceeds.' " 

But it is with Mr. Clay's public history that we 
have mainly to deal. The Legislative annals of the 
Nation are the sources from which it may be deri- 
ved. There it stands amply and immutably record- 
ed, through a period of nearly forty years. From 
those magnificent quarries of the Past, the materials 
will be drawn for a monument more perennial than 
marble or brass. Never were the views of a public 
man upon all questions of public policy more ingen- 
uously and unequivocally expressed — more clearly 
and broadly defined. On no one point is there an 



indication of shuffling — of a disposition to evade or 
defer the responsibility of uttering an opinion. In 
contemplating his career, we are often reminded of 
these lines by the author of ' Philip Van Artevelde :' 

" All my lifelong 
I have beheld with most respect the man 
Who knew himself and knew the ways before him, 
And from amongst them chose considerately, 
With a clear foresight, not a blindtold courage 
And, having chosen, with a steadfast mind 
Pursued his purposes." 
Such a man is Henry Clay ! And in no one pub- 
lic act of his life does he seem to have been actuated 
by other than pure and patriotic motives. " I w ould 

RATHER BE RIGHT THAN BE PRESIDENT." In that 

expression we have a key to his conduct from the 
moment he first entered the National Councils ; and 
in that expression we have an earnest of the single- 
heartedness of purpose with which the affairs of the 
country will be conducted under his administration. 
His elevation to the Presidency would be a national 
blessing — not merely because it would revive confi- 
dence and restore outward prosperity, but because 
its moral effect would be incalculably advantageous 
to our highest interests as a Free People. It is no- 
torious that, under the dynasties of Jackson and 
Van Buren, the moral tone of the country has been 
deplorably lowered ; the dastardly doctrine of Re- 
pudiation has sprung up, by which sovereign States 
have endorsed the ethics of the pickpocket and the 
swindler ; and our reputation, at home and abroad, 
has received stains, which it will take years to 
efface. 

To the Philanthropist, the Patriot, and the Chris- 
tian, what a relief to turn from this spectacle of dis- 
honor and mal-ad ministration, to the prospect of 
Henry Clay's election in November next' 

And now we approach the termination of our im- 
perfect sketch of his Lite and Public Services. Tire 
enthusiastic demonstrations in his favor, which are 
daily and hourly manifesting themselves in every 
quarter of the Republic, and which point to him as 
the only candidate of the Democratic Whigs of the 
| Union at the next Presidential Election ; the numer- 
I ous nominations, and the cordial testimonials of 
i State Legislatures, and of primary meetings of the 
! People every where, in his behalf, are matters of 
i present history, which it is the province of the news- 
; papers of the day to note. So overwhelming arc 
i they in their amount, that it would be useless for us 
to attempt in this place to convey an idea of their 
character and weight. That they are the infallible 
precursors of the election of Henry Clay to the 
Presidency of the United States, in the autumn of 
1844, we firmly and fully believe. That triumph 
will be rendered all the more glorious from its con- 
trast with the reverses and disappointments of the 
sixteen years preceding it, illumined only by that 
burst of sunshine which visited us in the election of 
General Harrison, and disappeared at his death. 

In this hope, we take a temporary leave of th« 
subject of our biography. What further distinctions 
and glories may await him, time only can reveal. — 
j But the Past is secure. His name lives in the hearts 
! of his countrymen. His fame is incorporate with 
! the history of the Republic. May they both ba 
i blended with the highest honor which a Free People 
I can bestow. 



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1-5 The above works are neatly printed on clear new type with about 150 engravings, and together are sold at the J ■§ 
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History of the Silk Culture: ji 

fljo. VI... The Silk Culture in the United States: embracing complete accounts of the latest and most * M 
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't Silkworm, the Mulberry, &c. Mlustrated by numerous engravings of Machinery and Processei" and a Manua * = 
of the Silk Culture. Price 25 cents ; five copies lor $1. 5 2 







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